Always a Blessing
by Izzy Samson
Summary: She had to tell him; he had a right to know—it was his child too. Will he deny me? Tell me that I have to get rid of it? She finally told him in a shaky voice, "Peeta, I'm pregnant." Teenage, poor girl Katniss and rich man's son Peeta, face an unexpected pregnancy in 1955.
1. Chapter 1

**Well here it is, my newest multi-chapter fic. I hope that you all enjoy it. This story started out as a entry in the Write-Me-A-Story Challenge.**

**I would like to thank my betas Court81981 and kismet4891 for encouraging me in this work.**

**Always a Blessing**

September 1955

"Please Jesus, no," Katniss begged as she looked at the tiny Standard Oil calendar that she kept in her purse to track Prim's doctor appointments. She felt sick in more ways than one. Nine weeks late for her monthly. Her breasts were swollen and sore. It was all but official; she had to be pregnant.

_What is Peeta going to say? He leaves for college in a week. What am I going to do?_

_Oh, my God! My family is will be so ashamed of me!_

_Am I going to be sent away and have to put it up for adoption? _The feeling raised a wave of panic in her, the baby wasn't much more than a frightening idea at the moment, yet she was already attached to it. She thought about Johanna's heartbreaking tale about putting her own baby up for adoption when the father had refused to marry her.

The first few weeks she hadn't worried. She was often late; between her poor eating habits and the stress of helping to support her family, her cycles were often erratic. But at eight weeks late, two weeks longer than ever, she began to worry. Every day that followed she tried to convince herself that it would start any moment, but it didn't, and then this morning she threw up her breakfast as soon as she ate it—she knew then that she was with child. As she retched, she thought, _the condom only broke that one time!_

Her mother and Prim gave her concerned looks and Katniss dismissed it as a bug going around the factory. They seemed to accept the explanation and wished her a good day at work.

As she walked the two and a half miles to Mellarks' Baking Company, she relived the events that led up to her current state and her unexpected whirlwind romance with the son of company's owner.

After Prim contracted polio, their father lost his job and Katniss quit school weeks into her senior year; she got a job at Mellarks' Baking Company a few months later. Peeta worked there after school. One stormy spring afternoon he stopped her on the street and insisted on driving her home, and that led to him driving her home every day. Then he started taking her to the movies, dinner, and going on long drives.

She didn't want to fall for him, but she was in deep before she knew it. The only reason that she allowed herself to care for him at all was that she thought it would only be a summer fling. She assumed in the fall he would leave and forget all about her. Eventually, he would wind up marrying some girl like Madge Undersee, who would keep an upscale modern house in heels and designer dresses.

They quickly became physical; she had been a late bloomer, yet that didn't stop the intense hunger and want for him that swept her every time that their lips touched. She wanted to give a piece of herself to him that no one else would ever have. Katniss never had plans to marry so saving her virginity was not a huge concern, but getting knocked up was. Peeta knew this and drove two towns over to get condoms. The first time they went all the way _it_ broke. They both felt awful, but convinced each other that it was next to impossible to get pregnant the first time. _Why was I so stupid!? It was so selfish of me!_

When Katniss got to work she couldn't concentrate. Johanna and Annie covered for her as she kept running to the bathroom since the smell of the pies they were boxing up made her ill. She expected her supervisor, Mr. Cray, to be a jackass and reprimand her. But he'd been lax with Katniss ever since Peeta caught him groping her on the line and threatened to 'fucking kick his ass up around his shoulders and have him fired the next time he caught him feeling up _his_ or any other girl working in the factory.'

Peeta tried all morning to catch Katniss's eye as he made the rounds, but she avoided him. Usually they would flirt and trade glances when they thought no one was looking. But she can't face him today. The news she has will change the course of his life.

She escaped to the rest room at lunchtime while the rest of the workforce went to lunch, knowing that she couldn't handle the smells of cured meat sandwiches and cigarettes. When she exited the tiled room, she found a concerned Peeta waiting outside of the door.

"You look awful. Katniss, what's wrong?"Peeta pled of her, the worry apparent in his voice.

"We can't talk here," she whispered.

He took her by the hand and led her to his father's office and locked the door, shut the blinds, and explained, "My dad and Abernathy are visiting with distributors and will be gone the rest of the day." He leaned on the desk and took both of her hands in his. "You've hardly spoken to me all week and totally ignored me all morning. Please tell me what's wrong. I don't know what the matter is. Is this about me going to Ohio State next week? Please don't be scared…because what I said about nothing changing between us still stands."

_I wish that it were that simple! _His going away was her biggest fear a few weeks ago, but now everything was different. She had to tell him; he had a right to know—it was his child too. _Will he deny me? Tell me that I have to get rid of it? _She finally told him in a shaky voice, "Peeta, I'm pregnant."

She waited for an angry outburst or denial—it never came. Instead Peeta's face became blank for what seemed like an eternity. He sank to one knee and bowed his head then took one of her hands in both of his and kissed her knuckles. Katniss had no clue what he would do…but she never could have imagined what came out of his mouth next.

He looked up at her with a huge smile on his face. "Katniss, I've only ever wanted you for my wife and for you to be the mother of my children. Maybe we've got the order of those things wrong, but that doesn't change how I feel. I love you, and I would be honored if you agreed to be my wife."

She just stood there with her mouth agape. She honestly thought that he would be cursing her at this very moment, calling her a whore or a slut—not proposing to her. She was better prepared for the negative reaction. What he was offering was too wonderful and really, too simple a solution. _This can't be real! _

His face turned somber as he waited for a reply and then he said mournfully, "I know that you may not feel the same way about me." He paused and caught her eye, sincerely promising, "But I'll be a good husband and I will provide for you and the baby."

It finally began to sink in that Peeta was absolutely serious. He sat her in the office chair and knelt before her so that they were eye level.

"What about college? Your mother is never going to approve of this," she stated and began to shake inexplicably. Here Peeta was telling her everything that any other girl in her position would kill to hear, yet she couldn't allow herself to believe it. _He is only doing this for the baby. _

"I don't care about college," he asserted, tenderly cupping her face with his hands. "College is Mother's dream, not mine."

"What is your dream?" she found herself asking before she could stop. She had to know about the picture perfect life she'd ruined.

He gave her his most winsome expression and declared, "You, for my wife." He then splayed an open hand to over her lower belly. "And this—ever since that very first day of school I fell in love with you. For twelve years I tried to think of ways to get near you, but I would always chicken out. For years, I seriously thought that you were Hawthorne's girl because you looked so happy whenever you were with him. Then at the start of our senior year, I decided that I would try to win you anyhow. I had it all planned out… I was going to ask you to homecoming and give you my class ring. You would wear it until I could have afforded an engagement ring."

His smile faded. "But then your sister got sick and you dropped out, and my plans were derailed. I wanted to come to you then, but I was a coward. I'm ashamed of myself for it. The only way that I could help you was to sneak you some baked goods along with a few dollars here and there."

Katniss released a breath that she didn't know she had been holding, taken aback by the story she'd heard. When her family had to move to the little house on Seam Street, someone had started to drop off a Mellarks' box filled with baked goods and a little money; sometimes that money was the only way that they ate or could pay rent. They suspected a Good Samaritan from church, but she never could have imagined this. She whispers in awe, "It was you?!" Peeta nodded in confirmation. "Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? Because I love you and I always have." He gave her a small smile. He then became more serious. "Now in Ohio we can't get married without our birth certificates; my mom keeps mine under lock and key and will never give it to me, especially for this. She would try to stop us if she knew. If we just show up married then there is isn't much that she can do. West Virginia is much more lenient, so we could go there and get married with no license or parental permission required since we're over eighteen."

"How do you know all that?" she questioned, absolutely amazed. She had no clue about state marriage laws.

"Ever since the night that we had the _accident_ I've been researching. No, honestly I was asking around before that," he admitted with a little flush in his cheeks. "Even if that hadn't have happened, please believe me when I say that I would still want to marry you now. So please, Katniss Everdeen, will you consent to being my wife? I can't promise that it will be easy at first. But I will do everything that I can to make our lives good."

She was at a loss; she knew that he deserved some glowing response, but she was not capable of that even on a good day, let alone right now. Peeta started to stroke her cheeks with his thumbs; she realized that he was wiping away tears—she was crying and didn't even know it. They were tears of joy—this is more than she could have ever hoped for. He held her gaze and she saw that he was sincere, that he really does love her and he wants this baby. She finally replied in a hoarse whisper, "Yes."

Peeta smiled and kissed her; he wanted to deepen it, she could tell, but she was reluctant. She broke the kiss and apologized, "I'm sorry, I've been throwing up all morning."

They both laughed a little, and he hugged her tight. Peeta explained his plan. He wanted to do the right thing and ask her parents for her hand, but Katniss begged him not to…she didn't want them to know how she's shamed them until she could first tell them that she was married. It has been a hard past few months, and she didn't want to distress them any more than need be.

Telling his family was not an option at all; they knew that Mrs. Mellark would be furious when she found out that her youngest had married "that dirty little Indian."It was her favorite name for Katniss because Everdeens were known to be part Shawnee. Peeta didn't want to put his father in the middle. He was certain that he would be allowed to keep his job at the factory, but he didn't know what his father could do for them beyond that.

He assured her that everything would be all right and sent Katniss home from work; nobody would think anything of it because she was obviously sick. She walked home slowly and tried to take her mind off her immediate problems and instead thought about what she ought to pack. She had very few choices; it would have to be her green-printed, cotton summerdress—it was newest thing she had. She also had newish navy pleated hat to take along, and it had a blusher…it would almost be like a veil.

When she arrived home she was thankful that Prim was in school, her dad was at work, and her mother was out. She took some crackers out of the tin and ate them. They seemed to settle in her stomach better than anything else had all day. Despite being beyond tired she decided to pack the one suitcase in the entire house. She didn't need much; they'd only be gone overnight. When her suitcase was packed, she set it outside the first floor bedroom that she and Prim shared. It was all starting to hit her, she was most likely going to be married by this time tomorrow, she wasn't going to live here anymore. _Peeta and I are going to be married and I'm having his baby…_

She was going to break her family's heart. _It's better for them to hear about her elopement than it would be for her child to be a fatherless bastard._ Her family loved Peeta and would quickly forgive him. How her future mother-in-law would react was a totally different story. She hated lying, but they had no choice. Katniss penned a letter that she would leave on Prim's pillow in the morning, explaining that she and Peeta were getting married and that they would be back the next morning.

She tried to lie down; she was so tired and she had sometime before Prim and her mother come home. Her nap was fitful and left her more tired than before.

Prim and their mother came home at the same time; her mother came to check on her. "Katniss, honey are you still feeling unwell?"

"Yes, but I've stopped being sick," she replied, knowing how terrible of a liar she was and hoping that her mother believed her. "I'm just exhausted now."

Her mother gave her a sympathetic smile, "Are you sure that's all your troubling you? Are you sure that you're not heartsick too?"

"Why would I be heartsick?" Katniss asked, attempting to seem naive.

"Because Peeta's leaving and he'll be gone for a long time. It will be Thanksgiving before he comes back home."

"Yes," she replied, thankful that her mother hadn't seen right through her.

"Everything will work out the way that it should. Your father and I are talking about getting a phone next month so that you and Peeta can call each other," her mother announced happily. "I'll get you at dinner, rest now."

Her mom's comments made her guilt mount even higher.

The evening was painful; she tried her hardest to act normal. When her father kissed her forehead 'goodnight,' she nearly burst into tears. She helped Prim out of her leg brace and her sister snuggled against her in her sleep and Katniss held her close in their bed for the last time.

The night lasted for what seemed like forever, and she only slept a few minutes at a time and finally morning came. She put on her white Mellarks' uniform dress and the orange cardigan that Peeta had given to her the first time that he'd given her a ride home.

Her mother made her eggs and toast, which she slowly ate. She felt a better than she did the day before and hoped breakfast might stay in her stomach today.

Her father had already left for the day, her mother was doing the dishes when she wished her a pleasant day, and Prim was sitting at the reading a book with her old tomcat in her lap. It was such a peaceful existence that would be shattered later this afternoon. Katniss ran to their bedroom, pretending to have forgotten her purse. She left the letter and exited the house after one last 'goodbye' from her mother and sister, then snuck around the house to got her suit case and swiftly walked to the alley where she and Peeta were to meet.

When she reached the alley she didn't see Peeta. The first half hour or so she didn't worry—she was early. But as the minutes ticked by she started to panic. _Maybe he got caught. Maybe he changed his mind. _She replayed everything that Peeta had told her, looking for any insincerity. At the time she hadn't analyzed what he'd said but now she did. One sentence stuck out to her: "I know that you may not feel the way about me."

_Oh my God, Peeta thinks that I don't love him! _While she'd never said the words, she did love him. In fact she loved him so much that it frightened her. She just never allowed herself to admit it; he was going away and she couldn't get too attached. _He's not going to come because he doesn't want to marry a stupid, poor, plain girl who doesn't even love him. _Her eyes started welling up with tears and she began to sob before she could calm herself down then got even more upset because she was crying. She sat on her suitcase and buried her face in her hands and felt totally helpless for the first time in her life.

"Hey, beautiful, do you need a ride?" A flirtatious familiar voice called out from above her.

She lifts her head and saw Peeta smiling down at her with his blue eyes shining. She quickly stood and threw her arms around his neck and sobbed. "I thought that you'd changed your mind."

He hugged her tight and kissed her raven hair as he apologized, "I'm so sorry I'm late. Mother chose this morning to have her coffee out in the rose garden so I couldn't climb out the window until she went inside. I got here as soon as I could." He added, "I wouldn't abandon you, ever."

"I know," she confessed and sniffed her tears away, "I think being pregnant is making me crazy…I never cry and that's all I want to do this morning."

"I think that's pretty normal to cry on your wedding day," he said and kissed her forehead and picked up her suitcase and took her hand. "Come on, we'd better get going. It's going to be a long drive and we're supposed to be sick in bed. I told my dad that I was too sick to go to work and I called into the factory pretending to be your father and said that you were still sick."

He opened the old Chrysler's door for her, just like he always had. They were on their way. Katniss felt strange leaving the Panem city limits, then the county line and soon they were well on their way to leaving Ohio altogether.

Peeta had the forethought to pack refreshment for them; there were some Cokes in a cooler, along with some fruit, and of course, boxes of Mellarks' mini pies, doughnuts, and cookies. He explained, "I thought that we'd better not stop until we make it to West Virginia…it's Friday and if we don't get married today then we'll have to wait until Monday. I don't think that we should be gone that long." Katniss agreed.

"You don't look like you've slept at all," he commented. "Come on." He invited her to sit next to him by patting the space next to him. "Sleep for a while if you can, I'll wake you when we're close."

Katniss thought that it would be a fruitless to try to sleep, but almost the instant that she leaned her head on his shoulder and inhaled his scent—shaving soap, clean cotton, and cinnamon—she felt instantly at ease and sleep came swiftly for the first time in days.

What seemed like a very short while later, Peeta was nudging her. "Katniss, sweetheart, wakeup. We're about to cross the state line."

She sat up and was instantly aware of how sore and stiff she was. With a yawn, she asked, "How long was I asleep?"

"Three hours," he grinned. "It was cute; you snored most of the time." He then pointed at the road ahead of them. "There it is… we're in West Virginia now."

"Wow, this is the first time that I've been out of Ohio."

"Someday, I'll take you all over the country…the world if you like." She could tell by the tone of his voice that he honestly meant it.

They stopped at the first gas station they came to and changed clothes, Katniss into her green dress, Peeta into his blue suit, and they asked for the nearest courthouse. An hour later they filled out paperwork and stood in front of a big-bellied judge who pronounced them to be man and wife with all the enthusiasm of someone reading from a phone book, complete with the clerk of courts and the ancient receptionist as witnesses. Peeta kissed her chastely at the end of the ceremony, disappointing her some.

They found a little diner and had a wedding feast of hamburgers, French fries, and milkshakes—a choice that she regretted short while later as they drove over the many hills and curves of the southern Ohio highway. Katniss made him pull over thinking she was going to be sick.

"How do you feel now?" Peeta asked all too patiently a short while later as he soothingly rubbed her back while she was hunched over fighting the wave of nausea.

"I'd be better when my stomach decides if it wants to keep the food in it or not," she grumbled and immediately regretted snapping at her brand-new husband. "I'm sorry…I'm just sick of being sick. I didn't mean to be cross with you."

"I know, it's alright," he dismissed her worries and handed her a bottle of Coke and encouraged her to drink. "I have the easy part. I'm just worried about you. Are you sure that you don't want us to get a hotel room? Really I don't mind, it wouldn't be that much."

"No, we'd better get back to Panem." She cringed at the thought of what her family was thinking at the moment. "We'll need every dime that we have. Besides, I don't want my family to worry about me or yours about you. We're going to have enough to deal with tomorrow." She fought the urge to cry and cursed her new inability to control herself, "They're going to know what I did! I've ruined your life."

He gripped Katniss's shoulders with his large hands and firmly told her, "Hey, no you did _not_! There were two of us involved and no matter what a baby is always a blessing. Please, Katniss, believe me when I say I want to be the best father I can be to our baby and a good husband to you." There was something about the way he was looking at her—there was love but there was also want. It ignited the same combination in her. She rose on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.

This was not like the friendly, lackluster kiss that they'd shared at the courthouse. She felt that familiar thing that had gotten them into all this trouble to begin with, that hunger for him that was all consuming.

"I was starting to think that you didn't want me…you've hardly kissed me in the last few days," he hoarsely whispered when he broke the kiss to gasp for breath.

"Sorry, I wasn't feeling too romantic," she replied before reclaiming his lips.

"Are you feeling _romantic _now?" he asked and backed her into the side of the Chrysler and pressed his hardening length against her belly.

"Ahh, Peeta," she moaned when he attacked her neck, which he knew drove her wild. She felt herself getting wet. "Shouldn't we find some place more secluded?"

"You're right," he grinned wickedly,"we don't want to spend our honeymoon in jail, now do we?"

She giggled as they fumbled back into the car; only he could bring out the light-hearted girl in her. Peeta drove down the highway and looked for a secluded pull off in the unfamiliar area. Katniss ran her hand up and down his thigh, touching everywhere but where he wantedher to. He growled with both pleasure and frustration.

Finally they found a gravel road, turned off the headlights, and parked in a driveway of an abandoned farmhouse surrounded by trees. As soon as the vehicle was put in park, they were a tangle of arms and lips. They worked at each other's buttons when Peeta suddenly stopped and bashfully asked, "Katniss, do you think that we could be totally nude this time? You know…we've never actually both been naked."

She'd never thought about it, but it was true: all the times that they'd been parking they'd been so concerned with getting caught that they never felt comfortable taking all their clothes off—or at least Katniss hadn't been. Even though they would be barely visible in the dark, the idea frightened her some, and yet, it was appealing in a forbidden sort of way. _No wait, he's my husband now, this is the way it should be._ She nodded. "Alright." They got out of the front seat and helped each other out of their clothes. Peeta covered the roomy back seat with a blanket and he laid her down. The mood had settled and they were no longer frantic and lustful. Now they could take the time to savor one another in a way that they'd never been able to before.

They kissed deeply and explored; he trailed down her neck to her tender breasts where he gently nipped and suckled as his fingers traced and teased her slickened sex. Katniss returned the favor and gripped his hardness and stroked it the way he'd shown her to at the beginning of the summer.

"I need you now, Peeta," she whimpered. He obliged, guided himself into her warmth and paused to allow her to adjust to his girth. Thrusting his hips slowly, he waited for her little moans of pleasure before increasing his speed.

She marveled at how much different it felt this time; maybe it was because of the lack of a barrier, or perhaps it was because it was no longer technically fornication but something sacred between a husband and wife. Either way, it was the most intense coupling they had ever shared. He changed the angle of his thrusts and soon the euphoric sensation that she'd only ever reached when he used his fingers before overtook her.

"C'mon, baby let go," he pled in her ear as his peak was also fast approaching.

His words sent her over the edge and an impassioned moan escaped her lips. He came moments later, raggedly calling her name and then collapsed on her. They lay there, panting and holding to each other for a while. Suddenly he lifted himself from her body and asked in alarm, "Do you think I hurt the baby?!"

She sat up and withheld her laughter. "No, its fine. My mother told me that when she explained the birds and bees to me. She was trained as a midwife, so she would know."

He sat against the door, stretched out his legs and pulled her into his lap. Looking at the fogged up windows, she had an impulse to do something that she'd always thought was silly when girls at school did it. She reached over to opposite window then drew a heart and wrote the letters 'K+P' inside it. It was her way of letting him know that she loved him since she couldn't say the actual words.

Peeta chuckled as she settled between his legs, and he studied her work. "Katniss Everdeen, I never took you for that kind of girl."

"Well, maybe Katniss Mellark will be a little different," she challenged.

"I hope the new Mrs. Mellark is not too different from Miss Everdeen," he said earnestly, "because I fell in love with everything about her." He lazily placed one hand on her breast and another on her lower belly, directly over where their child was growing and kissed her forehead. He whispered, "I know that you're not always comfortable with words and I'm fairly sure that you do, but I want to know for sure, you love me real or not real?"

"Real," she sighed and looked up at his smiling face and knew that he was content. She kissed him and prayed that someday soon that she could tell him about how much she admired and adored him. She just couldn't do it presently.

"Sleep now," he urged and pulled the blanket over them. "We're going to have a long day tomorrow. But we can do anything as long as we're together."

Katniss knew that the next day was going to be ugly, but the thought of Peeta being by her side throughout it made the prospect more bearable. She intertwined her fingers with the hand that rested on her belly and reaffirmed, "As long as we're together."

**Thank you for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, I can't believe the response to the first chapter of this story. Thank you to everyone who took the time to review!**

**Also thank you to my lovely and talented betas, Court81981 and kismet4891, who also made my awesome banner. I love you ladies!**

**Always a Blessing**

**May 1955**

Katniss and Peeta's relationship started off innocently enough. She had been working at the factory for a few months by the time Peeta graduated and started his annual summer job there. He would smile at her when he walked past, and once or twice she swore that he had winked at her but then she would chide herself for thinking such thoughts. Guys like Peeta Mellark did not wink at mousy girls like her. She had seen his prom photo in the newspaper; Madge Undersee and he made a picture perfect couple as prom queen and king.

They had been in the same grade in school, though most years they were in different classes. But they may have well been on different planets. He hung around with the town kids, and she was on her own or with Gale more often than not. Peeta played football and wrestled and was on the debate team while Katniss did her time at school and left the second the final bell rung. They couldn't have further apart if they lived in different states.

They had all of one interaction in the entirety of their acquaintance, and Katniss would like to forget that. When they were in the sixth grade, a boy by the name of Dick Cato came up to her in the crowded hallway and yanked on her braid, pulling it from the lovely French braid her mother had done and called her 'injun girl.' She had been used to being teased by the Cato boy; he had been relentless all year. He had finally gotten on her last nerve and nobody mussed her hair. She gripped the heavy math book in her hand and swung it with all her might and it hit the bully directly in the face. The large boy dropped to the ground and howled in pain.

Mr. Thread, the gym teacher who loved beating children even more than life itself and carried a paddle with him at all times, happened to be in the hall way and Dick Cato was one of his pets. The teacher demanded to know what happened. All the kids knew that it was Katniss, but no one would tattle on her—not because they liked her but because nobody could stand him. Peeta stepped out of the crowd and confessed that it was him. Dick Cato wasn't about to admit that he'd been hit by a girl half his size. Mr. Thread promptly told Peeta to assume the position and before Katniss could protest had delivered ten hits with the heavy paddle. Much to everyone's amazement Peeta never made a sound, and only a single tear fell down his cheek.

Katniss cried more than he did. She felt terrible; her temper had gotten the best of her and Peeta had paid the price. She still stood there after the crowd dispersed and wanted to thank him but she couldn't bring herself to do it. The teasing more or less stopped after that day; her actions must have scared most kids enough to leave her alone. Much to her shame, she was never able to thank him. Sometimes over the years she would catch him looking at her, she thought perhaps he considered her to be ungrateful or hardhearted.

So it came as a huge surprise when one rainy Monday afternoon at the end of May, an older model Chrysler pulled to the side of the street a few yards ahead of her. She didn't pay too much attention to the car,s he simply put her head down and started to quickly walk home in the downpour when someone, who had hopped out of the car called, "Katniss, can I give you a ride home?"

She looked up, and there was Peeta Mellark directly in front of her; she found herself speechless as she stared into his vivid blue eyes. She finally spat out, "Uh, no thanks, I'll be alright."

"You can't walk home in this. You don't even have an umbrella," he pointed out. She'd left the house in a hurry that morning and forgotten her rain coat. "You'll catch your death of cold."

"No, really I can't inconvenience you," she insisted.

"Oh, you only live a couple of miles away, it won't be any trouble." He opened the passenger door for her. Just then there was a loud clap of thunder, and the rain started to come down even harder. "Please, let me take you home."

"Okay," Katniss nodded and got into the Chrysler, and Peeta shut the door behind her and then came in on his side.

They were both soaked. He looked at her and his jaw hung slack, then he blushed brightly and quickly averted his eyes to the backseat and pulled out an orange and grey cardigan and handed it to her. "Please take my sweater."

Katniss looked down at her soaked white uniform dress and saw why Peeta was beet red. The thin cotton of her uniform clung to her body, revealing her underclothes and more for him to see. She took the sweater from his hand and wrapped it around her body and whispered a shy 'thank you.'

"You're welcome," he said genuinely and started the car. "You live on Seam Street right?"

"How do you know where I live?" she questioned, sounding a bit harsher than she'd meant to.

"Well, I've driven your sister home a couple of times after she came back to school," Peeta told her pleasantly. "She's a good kid."

She suddenly remembered Prim swooning while she told her about how the _dreamy_ Peeta Mellark had driven her home after he'd seen her struggle with her school books on the way home. Katniss felt ashamed for being cross with him. "Yes, she is," she agreed. "Thank you for helping her home."

"I was happy to do it." The storm worsened into a torrential downpour, and Peeta announced, "I'm going to have to pull over. I can't see a thing."

Katniss was suddenly grateful for the ride as she watched the rain sheet off the windshield; there weren't many places to find shelter on this stretch of road. They sat in somewhat awkward silence for few moments then Peeta asked, "So where is your boyfriend stationed now?"

"My what?!" she questioned, stunned.

"Gale Hawthorne. He's in the Army now right?" he said innocently.

"Yes, he is," she replied still clueless as to why Peeta would think that she and Gale were a couple. "He sent me a postcard on my birthday. It was from Germany, and that was the first that I heard from him in a while." There was much more to the Gale Hawthorne story than that, of course, but she wasn't about to share it that with Peeta. She then added almost involuntarily, "Gale's not my boyfriend. We were close friends growing up."

"Oh," he said, "everyone just always thought that you two were a together. You rode in his truck and you were always together. All the guys were afraid to approach you because Hawthorne used to threaten to throttle anyone who bothered you."

"I was never told about that," she offered not knowing what else to say, "I don't feel _that_ way about him."

Peeta flashed a movie star smile. "That's good to know." He looked out and saw that the rain had slowed. "It looks like we can drive again."

They rode in silence the rest of the way. When he pulled in front of her house, he got out of the car and opened the door for her and he offered her his hand, which she hesitantly took and then hurried up to the front porch.

"Would you like your sweater back?" she asked when they got reached the door.

"No, keep it," he insisted. "You look better in it than I do."

"Thanks," she replied cautiously. "Also thank you for the ride."

"I could drive you home," he suggested, "every day if you like."

"Oh, no it would be too much trouble to drive me—"

He cut her off. "No it wouldn't…I mean, I would be happy to drive you home. Um, just think about it. I guess I'll go now. Bye Katniss."

"Alright, thank you," she said sincerely, and he waved at her before running out into the rain. "Bye."

She watched his car pull away, thoroughly confused about what had just happened.

Over the next few days, they repeated same routine; Katniss would walk out of work, Peeta would stop her and ask if she would like a ride, and no matter how must she tried to dissuade him, he would kindly insist. The rides were mostly quiet but comfortable. By the third day, he had started to wait for her outside of the ladies locker room.

Johanna crudely teased her the following morning about trying to get a raise through the boss's son's pants. Katniss made a resolution that she and Peeta were only ever going to be friends, as if there were any other option. Yet she was very curious why he continued to be so intent on taking her home.

When Friday came around they did the same old dance. Although this time when they reached her door, he took her by surprise when he asked, "Would you like to go the movies with me, tonight?"

Before she could answer, Prim opened the door and grinned mischievously. "Katniss, I thought that maybe you forgot your key, so I came to open the door for you. Oh, hi, Peeta!"

She knew her sister thought no such thing; the house was hardly ever locked. Prim had been begging for information on the boy who'd been bringing her home from work all week. Katniss had simply said that it was a boy she'd known from school in order to avoid embarrassing questions at the dinner table. For some reason the thought of being teased about the golden-haired boy bothered her.

"I'm fine, Primrose," he said in a friendly tone. "How about you?"

"Good! Miss Paylor said that if I study hard this summer that I can go on to the tenth grade with the rest of my class, and I won't get held back because of all the school I missed."

"That's great, Prim. If you want any help studying let me know," he said. Katniss would have thought that it was nothing but empty words if it had not been for the sincerity in his voice. "I would be happy to come here and help you out in the evenings and weekends."

Katniss heard her mother's footsteps coming from the kitchen and her anxiety mounted. Her mother smiled widely at the stranger in her doorway. "Hello, you must be the young man who's been bringing Katniss home these past few days." Her mother turned to her and hinted, "Katniss, why don't you introduce us?"

"Peeta, this is my mom, Lillian Everdeen," she said politely, trying her hardest to hide her annoyance. "Mom, this is Peeta Mellark."

"It is very nice to meet you, ma'am," Peeta said warmly and extended his hand. "It is easy to see where your daughters get their beauty from."

Prim giggled and Katniss fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"What a charmer you are!" Mrs. Everdeen chuckled. "Would you like some cookies? I just pulled some oatmeal cookies out of the oven."

Peeta agreed and was whisked off to the tiny kitchen where he was served a cup of milk and a couple of cookies. Katniss was suddenly self-conscious of her surroundings as she looked at the cracked plaster walls and the aged appliances. While she'd never seen the inside of the Mellark home, judging by the exterior of the large Edwardian home, it was far nicer than five-room, aged rental the Everdeen family lived in.

Prim, their mother and Peeta had an animated conversation about baking after he praised the delicious cookies. A short while later Peeta announced that he had to go and then turned to the long quiet Katniss. "So, I'll pick you up at seven?" He then grinned at Mrs. Everdeen. "That is if it is alright with your parents that I take you to the movies?"

"Of course we wouldn't mind. Katniss hasn't been out in ages," her mother exclaimed, further humiliating her.

Peeta just beamed. "I'll be back in a while, I'm looking forward to it."

They all exchanged goodbyes, and Katniss showed Peeta out. It wasn't until he drove away that she realized that she had a date with him in a few hours that she'd never really agreed to.

That evening her mother and Prim fussed over her and chose a blue-collared shirt and striped skirt for her to wear. She found herself wishing, for the first time in her life that she had a closet full of puffy, tulle filled skirts, polka-dot dresses and sweaters like Madge Undersee and Delly Cartwright did. Mrs. Everdeen lamented, as she pulled Katniss's hair into a ponytail, that they didn't have enough time to set her hair in curlers.

Peeta came promptly at seven and was greeted at the door by Mr. Everdeen. He shook the elder man's hand and sat and spoke to him just as easily has he had to the rest of the family earlier. Katniss took note that he was dressed somewhat casually in a button-up shirt and jeans. After nearly half an hour of Peeta and Mr. Everdeen talking about the factory, Mrs. Everdeen reminded them, "You two had better get going if you want to get to the movie."

Peeta respectfully asked when they wanted Katniss home. She was shocked when her parents agreed that midnight would be alright. The few times that Gale took her out at night her curfew was ten o'clock, but then again that was when she was sixteen at the time.

"So, I was thinking that we could go to the drive-in theater. I like it better because you can talk without disrupting everyone else. We have a little while before it gets dark, so do you want to get a bite to eat? I'm starving."

"Alright, you're if hungry," Katniss agreed. She had been too distracted at dinner to eat much. They stopped at the Hob, the local drive-in and waited for a server. The waitress skated up; Katniss didn't pay too much attention to her until she poked her head through the window and saw that it was Glimmer Adamski, a girl from their class—not just any girl, the head cheerleader. She was an obnoxious kiss-up with the teachers and was cruel to everyone who she thought below her, which was most everyone.

"Hello Peeta, what can I do for you?" she purred seductively. The leggy blonde then saw Katniss sitting in the passenger seat and did a double take and then a sour expression crossed her face.

"Hi Glimmer," he greeted coolly and motioned to his date, "You remember Katniss don't you?"

"Uh, yeah, Pocahontas," the waitress commented snarkily. "This is just the last place I ever expected to see her."

Katniss felt her face flush with anger; she had never liked Glimmer and downright hated her at the moment. The kids at school used to tease her about her dark hair and skin, and over the years she had been called many unflattering names. Although since the Dick Cato incident, no one had been brave enough to say anything to her face. She wasn't ashamed of her heritage, but she didn't like to be made fun of because of it. It was a slap to everyone in her family.

Peeta did not miss a beat and replied, "I know, I've been trying to work the nerve to ask her out for years, but I always chickened out. I finally did it and here she is, amazing huh?"

Glimmer blinked a few times as if she couldn't process what he'd said. "Oh, well what can I get you to drink?"

They gave her their order and when she left them, the car was filled with a tense silence.

"Thank you," Katniss whispered.

"For what?" Peeta asked.

"For putting her in her place," she stated simply. "And other things."

"Well, I didn't think that it was right for her or anyone else to make fun of you," he said and then added, "and I never have."

"I know," she admitted and caught his eye. "I remember when Mr. Thread paddled you. I shouldn't have let you take the blame; I should have spoken up or at the very least thanked you."

"No, I should have throttled that Cato kid myself," Peeta laughed. Then said more seriously, "You didn't deserve to be paddled after giving him what he was coming to him. But I did for letting it go on." He then added, talking more to himself than to her, "Besides it was far from the worst whopping that I ever got."

They were quiet for a second or two. "I would have thanked you long ago but I didn't know how," she begrudgingly admitted.

He shrugged his shoulders. "A kiss would have been nice." They both laughed. Peeta then became more serious, and said in a low slightly nervous, tone, "I always thought that it was neat that you are part Indian, you always stood out. You know, the girls just made fun of you because they were jealous because you were prettier than them and you sang so well and boys teased you because they liked you. Well, some were mad that you could play baseball better than them."

Katniss snickered and shook her head. "That's what my Mom used to tell me."

"It's true," he affirmed. "You being a little different was all they could pick on. You were hardly the only olive-skinned kid in school. Heck, the town was built on a Shawnee village. I bet most everyone in town has some Indian blood."

"It didn't make it hurt any less," she sighed. Katniss rolled her eyes and thought that he was just being overly nice. "You don't have to charm me, you know?"

"I know, that's what I like about you, I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not just to gain your approval. I can be myself and I don't feel like you're judging me," he explained with just the right touch of shyness. He then pondered, "I wonder what ever happened to Dick Cato; he didn't come back to school the following year."

"I always heard that his parents sent him to a boarding school," Katniss offered.

"That was probably a nice way of saying that he ended up in Juvenile Detention," he cracked.

A subdued Glimmer brought their order to the car as they shared a deep belly laugh, and her face became even dourer. They ate and then drove to the movies. Now that Katniss had thanked him, it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and she could now relax in his presence. The feature of the night was _The Lady and The Tramp_; Peeta confessed that he'd wanted to see it but couldn't because he was afraid of being teased by all his buddies.

"Why didn't you ever bring Madge?" Katniss inquired; she'd been dying to ask about Madge all week but she didn't have the nerve to bring it up.

"I don't think that my brother would appreciate that," he said. "He and Madge have been going steady since last Christmas. Mother insisted that I keep her company on the weekends and take her to the school dances so no other guy could cut in. I didn't have a girl of my own so I didn't mind. Rhyes is home for break so he can entertain her for the summer…I would like to spend the summer romancing my own girl." He punctuated his comment with a wink.

She felt her cheeks get hot, and she turned her attention to the Goofy cartoon on the screen. They didn't speak much after that. About the same time the dogs shared a plate of spaghetti, he reached his arm around her shoulder. She tensed up for a second, he asked, "Is this alright?"

"Yeah," she whispered. "I just wasn't expecting it."

He smiled and scooted a little closer. There was something electric about his innocent touch. It wasn't like she'd not been on dates before. Gale had taken her out several times, and they exchanged a few kisses the summer before he went to boot camp, but it was akin to what she imagined it would be like to kissing a brother. At the last New Year's Eve party, Darius surprised her by stealing a kiss at midnight and took her out a couple of times. She'd been flirted with and had passes made at her, but nothing compared to the strange combination bliss and want that she felt at that moment.

Her mind and heart were at war. She had to admit that she'd always had a little crush on Peeta Mellark. She was sure that every girl in the town of Panem did, with his sweet and outgoing personality and all-American good looks, how could they not? But truthfully it went deeper than that. She admired his kindness, which he'd exhibited by taking the time to drive Prim home after seeing her struggle and by taking a punishment that he didn't deserve.

_I have no business with a boy like this. He will go off to college this fall and will forget about me. I don't have a future with him. _The good girl in her didn't want to waste her time and affection on a guy that wouldn't be a serious candidate for a husband; that just wasn't the way the world around her worked. Not to mention the fact that she wasn't sure that she'd ever get married. Sure her parents had an ideal marriage, but she knew of several other women who did not have such luck in catching good husbands. She would rather be a spinster than have to deal with a husband who liked to treat her like a punching bag or that ran around on her.

But she counter-reasoned, _just because I won't ever be his wife doesn't mean that enjoy being with him now. Why can't indulge myself just this once? _She had always done what was right; she was a good daughter and sister, and volunteered at church. Her own life all but stopped the morning that Prim couldn't get out of bed last fall. She had been living for everyone else ever since.

When the movie ended it was still awhile before midnight so Peeta suggested that they go for a drive. They drove the gravel roads, far past the city limits and found a secluded spot and sat on the hood of the car and looked at the stars. Peeta regaled her with his knowledge of the constellations and told her about the myths correlated with them. She was in awe of his knowledge and his ability to tell a story. At eleven-thirty, they headed back to town. He walked her to her door just as he had all week, only now he walked with his arm around her shoulders.

"I had a good time tonight," Katniss told him sincerely.

"Good, because I was hoping that I could take you out again tomorrow night," he said hopefully. "That is if you're free?"

"I don't have any plans," she answered in a soft tone.

"Great, if it's okay, I'll pick you up at seven." She nodded 'yes' and he gave her a broad grin and started to walk back to his car.

"Peeta," she called, and he turned and came back to the foot of the porch steps.

"Yes?" he asked, and she approached him stepping down on the porch step, effectively making them faces level.

She placed her hands on his shoulders, leaned in and pressed her mouth to his. He took a moment to reciprocate, and then finally he moved his lips against hers. The kiss was warm and tender, but Katniss could feel something simmering within her—she wanted more. Yet she was scared of what 'more' might be so she pulled back, bit her lip and shyly looked at her shoes, "I know it is six years too late, but thank you. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Goodnight." She dared to look at him; his eyes were wide and expression told her that he'd not been expecting a good night kiss.

"G-goodnight Katniss," he stuttered. She turned and walked to her door and peeked out window to watch him drive off. She wasn't sure, but there seemed to be a spring in his step.

As she watched him drive off, she knew that this was the start of something special…

Xoxoxoxoxoox

September 1955

"How are you feeling today," Peeta smiled broadly at Katniss over the chrome diner table, "my wife? Are you sure that you don't want anything else?"

She nodded and then explained, "I'm a little better, as long as I don't eat too much at once I'm fine. I'm surprised that I slept so well."

They woke just before dawn; their sleep was peaceful despite the awkward position. Peeta cradled her naked body in his warm arms the whole night. When they were within an hour of Panem, they stopped for breakfast. He was enjoying a full plate of eggs, sausage, home fries, and toast with a cup of coffee. She was picking at her eggs and hash browns and sipping her glass of milk.

Katniss could not believe how happy and confident Peeta looked this morning; it was like he'd been waiting for this day for so long. She wanted to share in his joy, but the pragmatist in her would not allow it. According to her best guess, they had a little over six months before the baby was due. They didn't even have a place to live and nothing to start a life with—not even a frying pan or set of sheets.

She set her fork down on her plate and decided that it was time that they made a plan for the day. "So who will we tell first?"

"I think that we ought to tell your family first," he surmised. "I want them to know that you're alright. Anyway we will receive a warmer welcome at your house than we will get at mine." Peeta was feigning indifference, but she could see pain in his eyes. "At least the good news is that most of my things are already packed and everything that I can't stand to part with I put into my footlocker with my 'college' things so in case Mother tosses my stuff into the street it will at least be easy to collect. I will get to see Dad at work, and my brothers can visit us if they care to see me."

"Are they going to visit the car?" Katniss chuckled, trying to return him to his earlier cheerfulness.

It must have worked because he smirked then winked at her. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about that," he said sarcastically, knowing that she hated to be talked to thusly. "I have a surprise for you later. We're not going to have to live in the car."

Katniss tried to pry information out of Peeta, but he would not divulge any details. They paid the bill and headed back to Panem. She became more nervous the closer to home she got. He held her hand as they drove; the only sound was Peeta's occasional insistence, "Everything's going to be okay."

They pulled in front of the Everdeen home and she felt herself shaking; she didn't know what to expect. As soon as they set foot on the porch, the front door swung open. Her father's face looked grim and then it melted into a relief upon looking at his eldest daughter safe and sound. He asked, "So you are married now?"

"Yes," she replied softly.

Without another word Mr. Everdeen embraced her tightly. Tears started run down Katniss's face; she didn't know how long they stood there. When her father finally let her go he said, "Your mother is in the kitchen. We all need to sit and talk."

Katniss lead the way to the kitchen, followed by Peeta and her father. Her mother sat at the tiny table with a cup of coffee in hand; her face was puffy and tear-stained, and it was obvious that she'd not slept all night. Next to her was Prim. She looked so helpless, but she beamed when she saw them and then rose and limped to her sister.

"Hey, Little Duck," Katniss whispered and pushed some loose hairs from her sister's forehead.

"Prim, can you go to your room please?" Mr. Everdeen requested.

Prim knew better than to argue and left the room after tugging on Peeta's arm he bent over and she placed a kiss on his cheek. Katniss could hear her whisper, "Congratulations," in his ear.

The younger couple sat across from the elder one. All was quiet for many uncomfortable seconds. Her mother finally looked, but she glared at her new son-in-law. "You should have asked us for her hand Peeta."

Before Peeta could answer, his wife responded for him. "He wanted to, but I asked him not to. Peeta wanted to do the right thing but I wouldn't let him."

"I should have asked anyway," Peeta added, and the regret was tangible in his voice.

"No, you did as your wife asked," Mr. Everdeen said heavily.

"I want you to know that it was always my intention to marry your daughter," Peeta explained and reached for his wife's hand under the table.

Mr. Everdeen nodded, and Mrs. Everdeen started to tear up again then got up and hurried out of the room sobbing. Katniss stood to follow her, but her father stopped her. "Just give her some time. She was really scared last night. She'll be alright as soon as the shock wears off. We are more upset that you didn't tell us than we are about the elopement or the other thing. I sure you'll understand in a few months time."

Katniss sat back down, feeling utterly defeated.

Mr. Everdeen addressed Peeta, "So, do your parents know yet?"

"No," Peeta admitted. "We wanted our 'happy' reception first."

The older man gave them a sympathetic smile, "Once the baby comes, everyone will forget about the rocky beginning."

Katniss felt her stomach drop; they knew about the baby. _Of course they know, why else would you run away to get married over night?_

Peeta shared the story about their trip to West Virginia. Mr. Everdeen invited them to dinner, promising that her mom would be better then, and they gladly accepted.

"You'd best get on to your parents, Peeta," Mr. Everdeen said. The Everdeens knew well enough that they were more pleased about Katniss and Peeta's relationship than his family, or at least his mother was. Her parents had asked Katniss about his home life, even though she knew how unstable it was, she never shared what details she knew, but they understood that it wasn't the warmest household in town.

Katniss excused herself to use the bathroom and freshen up. When she returned and saw her father shaking her husband's hand and affectionately clapping him on the back, she heard her father murmur, "Just let me know what I can do to help."

They young couple left the small house on Seam Street for the huge house on Merchants Lane. As soon as they got into the car, Peeta released a deep breath. "That went far better than I expected."

"What were you expecting?" she wondered aloud.

"It wouldn't have shocked me to have gotten punched," he disclosed. "Your dad was far more understanding than I would have been. I really thought that your mom would have been the one to greet us with open arms."

"Me too," she sighed. It made her feel awful that she had disappointed her mother but knew that she would forgive her soon. That thought comforted her because she knew that would not be the case with Peeta's mother.

She couldn't help but to be relieved to see Mr. Mellark's Cadillac in the driveway; the thought of giving news to Mrs. Mellark while he was away frightened Katniss. They approached, and Peeta knocked on the door; it always struck her as odd to have to knock at your own front door, yet she knew that Peeta had too. The door was answered by the Mellarks' maid, a middle-aged woman by the name of Mrs. Sae, took Peeta's hand in both of hers and gave a pained smile, "Oh, my boy, you've done it this time."

"Aww, I've always been Mother's biggest disappointment," he said in shockingly upbeat tone. "At least she finally has a real grievance with me."

The old woman put her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. "You best get to the sitting room. Your father is waiting there. I'll fetch your mother, she's in the rose garden. I'll take my time."

This time Peeta led the way. This was exactly the third time she'd ever been to the house. Peeta brought her here once while his parents were away to meet Mrs. Sae and once for a Sunday dinner where Mrs. Mellark tried to humiliate her but just made herself look silly in the end.

The house may have been Edwardian on the outside, but it was modern inside. The affect was not becoming; it was cold and sterile.

When they entered the sitting room, Mr. Mellark was pacing the room. "Oh, thanks be to God," he sighed with a slight Dutch accent when he saw his son. Henk Mellark came to America as a teenager and was never able to totally lose his accent. Peeta told her once it was why he hardly ever spoke in public. He approached them lovingly gripped his son's shoulder and cupped Katniss's face and asked, "Are you well?"

She affirmed that she was. Katniss always liked Mr. Mellark; he was good to her as an employer and kind to her as his son's girlfriend.

"So how bad was it?" Peeta asked his dad.

His father waved him off. "You don't need to worry about that right now."

The telltale _click clack _of Mrs. Mellark's heels gave everybody pause; both Peeta and his father straightened up quickly and stepped apart. The statuesque blonde woman burst into the room with fire in her eyes and she stalked up to the group. "How dare you bring that trash into my home?"

"Dawn, that is our daughter-in-law that you are speaking to," Mr. Mellark said calmly.

"I told you that this would happen!" She hissed at her husband and pointed her finger at Katniss. "Well, the joke is on you! Because I am going to make sure that he will get nothing."

For a moment she was glad that she'd been teased as a child because it had hardened her to such attacks. "That is fine," Katniss said evenly, "I don't give damn about your money. I think that we'd be better off without it judging by all the _happiness_ it's brought you."

A quick glance at Peeta told her that he was proud of her, Mr. Mellark looked a little dismayed, and his wife quaked in anger.

"Look at what a dirty-mouthed whore you've married, Peeta," she spat at him, trying her hardest to restrain herself.

"Mother, I've heard far worse from you," he replied and set his jaw. "I've just come to get my things and to tell you my news, not to listen to you insult my wife."

"So tell me Peeta, are you even the father?" the cruel woman asked her son. Peeta's face turned beet red, and his fists clenched. Mrs. Mellark smiled wickedly. "Oh, I know she's pregnant. Why else would you ever marry such a stupid little squaw? She didn't even finish school!"

"Dawn that is enough," Mr. Mellark told his wife. "I will help Peeta get his things. Katniss, why don't you wait in the car?"

She agreed and showed herself to the door and waited in the car. A few minutes later her husband and his father came down with boxes in hand, and after a couple of trips the trunk was full. Peeta excused himself to get his foot locker, leaving Katniss and her new father-in-law alone.

He asked in a whisper, "So is there a baby?"

"Yes," she confessed.

"When?"

"Early next spring," she said, stretching the truth somewhat. The due date was really February by her reckoning, but she didn't want him to think less of her, to know how quickly she'd started to sleep with his son.

The older man smiled, "A baby is always a good thing." She was struck by how much he reminded her of Peeta in that moment. It was hard to imagine being Peeta's father sometimes; sure the two burly, blond men resembled each other, but their personalities were very different. Mr. Mellark was quiet, somber, and distant. Peeta was warm, funny, and personable. Knowing that one his parents didn't hate her brought her a little comfort.

Peeta come back with his trunk in hand and put it into the back seat. His father wished them goodbye and told his son, "I will see you at work on Monday, if not sooner." He then said to Katniss in a half-hearted tone, "I will not see you Monday. You are fired. Your job is to be a good wife to my son now."

"I hope to be, sir," she replied. The Dutchman patted her head softly before they got into the car and pulled away.

"I'm sorry about what my mother said," he apologized sincerely. "None of it is true. You are the purest person I ever met. I'm sorry about what I did to you."

"I'm not," she assured him. "As I recall, I was to the one who had to convince you."

"You did practically hold a gun to my head to get me to make out with you," he joked, and they shared a quiet chuckle.

"So where do we go now?" Katniss asked seriously.

Peeta's face lit up and he announced, "To your new home, Mrs. Mellark."

**Thank for reading, I hope that you enjoyed it! **

**Remember, the only way that authors know how you feel about their work is when you leave a review. So, if you really liked a story or chapter please let the author know, it may seem like a small thing, but really means a lot. **

**You can also find me on tumblr and Ao3 as izzy samsom. On tumblr you will also find and outtake I wrote in honor of Court's birthday about AaB K&P first time going all the way, it may or may not be in a later chapter. You can find it under the tags #court81981, #fff, #always a blessing.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review this story, it means so much to me.**

**Also many thanks to my wonderful betas kismet4891 and Court81981 for all their support and hand holding.**

**Always a Blessing**

**Chapter 3**

**June 1955**

Peeta walked by the assembly station with a clipboard in hand, winked at her, and gave her his million-dollar smile. She looked down and tried to hide her blush from her co-workers.

They had a wonderful weekend; after the movies on Friday he took her out again on Saturday night. He took her to go bowling in the next town over, and they were both terrible, but they had a good time. The goodnight lasted longer than it had the night before, and she was even more reluctant to part from him. Her parents had invited him to Sunday dinner, which he accepted and ended up staying four hours. He played checkers with her father and helped Prim with her summer make up work. It amazed her how well the larger than life Peeta Mellark fit into their little world.

The break bell rang out. Katniss was boxing mini pies with Johanna and Annie. Katniss liked them better than the other women that worked at the factory. They had taken her under their wings when she first started working there. Annie Cresta was a local girl a few years ahead of Katniss in school. Johanna Mason was from somewhere in the northwest and wound up here by chance when her car broke down in Panem a few years ago. They were roommates and shared a nearby apartment. The two were opposites in about every way. A tall, green-eyed beauty, Annie was gentle and polite while the petite Johanna could be crass and always spoke her mind.

Annie smiled at Katniss sweetly and waved her pack of Salem's at her, "Would you like to join us for a smoke?"

"You know I don't smoke," she protested. She didn't care for the smell of cigarettes, not to mention that she thought it was a waste of money and no matter how many TV doctors said otherwise that there was no way that breathing in smoke was good for you.

Johanna sighed, and she grabbed Katniss by the elbow and dragged her out the door. "Don't care, you're coming with us."

As soon as they were outside the women pulled Katniss to the far end of the alley so that the other women couldn't overhear the conversation. Annie asked in a hushed voice, "So what is going on with you and the Golden Boy?"

"Who?" Katniss feigned ignorance.

"You know who we're talking about, brainless," Johanna said and lit up her unfiltered Marlboro and took off her hair net to play with her short hair. "Peeta Mellark."

"Um, nothing," Katniss fibbed, but the women gave her knowing looks and she then admitted, "He took me out a couple of times this weekend and then he came to dinner at my house last night…but really he spent more time with my family than he did with me. He spent quite a bit of time explaining to Prim about the difference between colons and semi-colons."

Annie let out a high-pitched squeal and hugged Katniss. "I knew it!"

Johanna rolled her eyes and laughed. "I told you that he's got it bad for you. Poor guy has been giving you puppy dog eyes ever since he started working here. So tell me—" She stopped to take a drag from her cigarette. "—Does he kiss as well as he talks?"

Katniss's jaw dropped. "I-um."

"Jo, stop it, you're embarrassing her," Annie chided. "Besides a lady doesn't kiss and tell."

"Yeah, well most people wouldn't consider factory girls to be ladies." Johanna said hostilely, and she gave a nasty look to some of the other girls that had drifted closer to them, no doubt to eavesdrop on their conversation. Johanna said in louder tone, "Of course nosey little tramps like Peggy Bristel and Ester Leevy don't helps our cases any!"

The two nearby girls' heads snapped up at the mention of their names and then they knew they'd been caught. Johanna waved them off, "You damned old hens! Go mind about your own business."

"We just wanted to get the scoop on how to get a raise around here," Bristol said snidely. "That is why Everdeen is going out with the big boss's son, right?"

Levy chimed in, "He'll just use you and then probably have his dad fire you so he doesn't have to look at you every day."

Johanna took a step their way, but Annie grabbed the back of her dress and whispered to her friend, "You can't afford to get any more write-ups Jo." She then addressed the other workers, "You're just jealous, Leevy. You drooled over Graham Mellark in high school and he never once looked your way. Now get outta here."

Katniss didn't know how to feel; the other girls had just confirmed her greatest fear. People would think the she was using Peeta or that he was taking advantage of her.

"Oh, Katniss," Annie soothed after the other girls walked away. "Boys who aren't serious don't come to Sunday dinner with the family and help little sisters with school work."

"Yeah, the first clue that man only wants in your pants is that he honks for you at the curve instead of getting you at the door," Johanna said with just a tinge of bitterness in her voice.

The bell rang again, letting them know that break time was over. The girls reentered the building, and just as Katniss went to return to her station she felt a firm smack on her rear; she knew instantly that it was her supervisor, Mr. Cray. She hated being touched by him, all the girls did, but those who complained always wound up reprimanded or fired. So she held her tongue and turned to him, "Hey honey, you're wanted in Abernathy's office."

"Why?" she asked.

"Don't know, I'm just passing along the message," he said indifferently. "Hurry back when you're done, sweet cheeks."

She was filled with a feeling of dread; it was very strange for Mr. Abernathy to pull someone off the line. Leevy cast a smug look at her as she walked past. Katniss hurried to the bakery's business offices at the front of the factory, and she stepped into to the reception area where she was greeted Mrs. Effie Trinket. The lime-green clad secretary with bouffant hairdo sat at her desk and smiled sweetly. "Ah, Miss Everdeen, Hay- I mean Mr. Abernathy is waiting for you. Let me show you in."

An apprehensive Katniss was led to the modest office where Mr. Abernathy was talking on the phone. He motioned for her to sit while he carried on a congenial conversation. As he continued to chat, Katniss took in the tan-skinned man; he had dark hair with streaks of grey. He was a bit the short side and barrel chested.

But to say that Haymitch Abernathy was a _unique _person was an understatement. He, like Katniss, was part Shawnee. In his teens his first successful business endeavor was running a moonshine still in the woods on his family's property. After prohibition ended, he became an honest businessman and then he romanced and married the daughter of a local candy maker, and by all accounts they lived happily and built a large house on his family's land. His wife died unexpectedly a few years after they married, followed some time later by his mother and younger brother. The war was going on and he joined the Army, not for any noble reasons but as an alternative to suicide. Although his goal was to die in battle, he never saw much in the way of action and despite his best efforts to kill himself he lived through the war and came back to Panem.

His old friend, Henk Mellark, was trying to turn his small bakery into a large-scale business by taking advantage of the post war boom. Mr. Mellark asked Haymitch for help, not only because he was a brilliant businessman but because he wanted to give his old friend a purpose besides nursing a bottle of booze. Haymitch had helped to build the Mellark brand and brought in investors. Peeta had mentioned him affectionately a few times over the weekend. In fact now that she thought about it, Peeta had mentioned him more often than he had anyone else, even his family. Just as she began to think about how odd that was, Mr. Abernathy hung up the phone.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when he declared in a far less professional voice than he had while speaking on the phone, "Damn, he's a long winded bastard!"

Instead of addressing her, he got up and looked out the window then produced a flask from his pocket and took a pull from it. This annoyed her to no end; here she'd been yanked off the line for some unknown reason, to be fired perhaps, and here he was drinking on the job at ten o'clock in the morning. She couldn't help herself and was irritated with him. "You know you make all of us of Indian descent look bad when you drink on the job!"

"Relax, sweetheart," he said dismissively. "I drink because I've had a shitty life, not because my great-granddaddy fought beside Tecumseh. Besides my Irish ancestors liked booze more than my Indian ones did." He took another drink, "I like you Miss Everdeen. You have…oh, what is the word I'm looking for? Yeah, spunk! You have spunk, but you're not obnoxious about like the Mason girl can be. You do your work efficiently and you don't complain."

"So why am I here?"

"I heard that you and the boy were inseparable all weekend." Katniss gave Mr. Abernathy a blank look and he looked a little irritated and clarified, "Peeta."

She didn't know how to reply so she thought it best to down play it as nothing. "Yes, we went out."

"The boy is crazy about you," he commented as he put his flask away and sat down. She could feel her eyes go wide, and her mouth open in surprise. Haymitch chuckled, "Well judging by the look of shock on your face you weren't aware of it. That's a promising sign."

She was thoroughly confused. "A sign of what?"

"That you like him and not his name," he said thoughtfully.

"I don't see how anyone couldn't like him," she said softly. "So why did you drag me up here, Mr. Abernathy?"

"I just thought that I'd give you a heads up about what you've got ahead of you. You're going to get a lot of nasty comments and unflattering things said about and to you. For some reason there's a few folks out there don't like the likes of us, no matter how diluted we are, mixing with the high and mighty. I'm just here to advise you that if you're not up for all of that, you'd best let the boy down now before you he gets too attached to you. I'm partial to him and I don't want to see him hurt by someone unworthy of him."

She flashed him a scowl. She had already thought herself undeserving of Peeta but to hear someone have the gall to say it aloud made her defensive. _Why don't I deserve him?! I'm respectable and truly care about him._

"Easy there," Mr. Abernathy smirked at her. "I didn't say that you weren't a good kid, I just wanted to know your intentions. I don't want to see him get caught in a honey trap or to be taken advantage of because of his good nature."

She thought about it for a second or two and then she said honestly, "I like Peeta, and I just want to spend some time with him. I know that the odds of this turning into anything other dating aren't in our favor. He's going to go off to college and I'm going to stay in Panem. I just want enjoy what time we may have together this summer." All of a sudden the peculiarity of this conversation and who she was having it with struck her. "Why are you asking me these questions? Shouldn't I be getting this lecture from say, Mr. Mellark?"

"Henk is a good man and excellent baker," he explained. "But he is oblivious to the world around him and a terrible judge of character. That's why he hired me to take care of the business end of the bakery. Peeta is the future of this business, and he has it in him to do great things. I don't want to see Peeta hurt by greedy women anymore."

"I swear the last thing I want to do is to hurt him," she said candidly.

"That's good, sweetheart," he said and nodded. "You'd best get back to work. If anyone asks why you were down here tell 'em that we had to correct some paperwork. You're due for one anyways. You'll get two bucks more a week."

"Thank you, sir," Katniss said and got up out of her chair and walked to the door.

Mr. Abernathy stopped her before she opened the door, "Oh, Miss Everdeen could you tell me something? And please answer honestly as I won't tell anyone I talked to you about it."

"Yes, sir."

"Is Cray still playing grab ass with you girls?"

"I got a slap on the rump when you sent for me," she said frankly.

Mr. Abernathy let out an annoyed groan and shook his head and whispered, "Stupid bastard."

Katniss left the office and began the trek back to the assembly line. She heard her name being whispered behind her; she turned to find Peeta walking towards her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I got called to Mr. Abernathy's office." She stopped and waited for him to catch up and told him, "I just got my six-month pay raise."

"That's great," he beamed and put his hand on her arm. "I'll take you for ice cream to celebrate. Prim can come too."

"That would be nice," she whispered and couldn't help but smile. But then she looked at his hand for a second and said heavily, "Peeta, I don't think that we should talk at work. I don't want everyone to get the wrong idea about us or that I'm getting special treatment."

He looked slightly hurt but then shook his head in agreement. "I guess you're right."

She felt bad so she looked around to make sure that nobody else was present and then she reached up in her tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "Just at work," she consoled him before she walked away. "I've got to get back. See you later."

She left him with a smile on his face. When she got back to her station, Annie and Johanna gave her expectant looks, as did Bristel and Leevy. She knew that it was petty and that it would be misconstrued, but she couldn't help resist the temptation to be snotty. She cocked an eyebrow and said loudly enough for all on the line to hear, "I just kissed Peeta and then got a pay increase."

Annie and Johanna giggled because they knew Katniss well enough to know when she was being sarcastic. Bristel and Leevy gave her baffled stares and before Cray got on them for letting too many pies get past them.

When things quieted down Johanna elbowed Katniss and asked, "Hey brainless, you were talking about your six-month pay bump weren't you?"

"Yes, but those two biddies don't need to know that," she said in a hushed voice.

"I'm glad to see that I'm finally rubbing off on you," Jo winked at her and threw herself back into her work.

Katniss tried to concentrate on boxing confections, but her thoughts wandered. Ever since it first occurred to her in Mr. Abernathy's office it had been on her mind: Peeta had hardly spoken about himself or his family. He'd mentioned his brothers in passing and talked about his father only in terms of work. Heck, he'd even mentioned their maid, Mrs. Sae, but never his mother. Katniss was starting to suspect that there was so much more to Peeta Mellark than met the eye.

**Xoxoxoxoxo**

**September 1955**

"I don't know what kind of shape this place will be in," Peeta said hesitantly as they drove towards the edge of town where the houses became fewer and farther between. Just past the city limits he turned into a long, winding gravel driveway with a faded sign that read 'Victor's Hallow.'"Haymitch said that they modernized the place for his mom but that was well over twenty years ago. He has had a few tenants over the years and Effie has someone check it over a couple of times a year. I'm so sorry about the other place, Katniss."

Katniss hugged his arm and kissed his cheek, "Hey, that wasn't your fault, you couldn't have known that your mom was going to do that."

It had been a long and disappointing past few days. After leaving Peeta's parents house on Saturday morning, he drove her to a lovely old brick duplex on a quiet street. He explained that he'd found the perfect place for them and he'd already spoken to the landlord. He looked at the house Thursday night and that everything was set. The beautifully landscaped house was only a few blocks away from her parents' place and within walking distance of the town park.

When they knocked on the landlord's side of the duplex to get the key, they got an unpleasant surprise. The lady informed she would not be able to rent to them after all. She told them that she had tried to cash the check that Peeta had given her for the deposit, but the bank said the account had been closed.

She and Peeta rushed to the bank before it closed at noon and sure enough, both Peeta's checking and savings accounts had been closed and cashed out. His mother had always insisted her and his father's names also be on Peeta's account while he was in school. Peeta had plans to change the accounts to his and Katniss's names, but there hadn't been the time.

To Peeta's credit he was able to keep his composure despite the fact that he was furious; he had nearly five hundred dollars saved between his accounts. It would have been more enough to give them a very comfortable start. But now they had all of fifteen dollars between them.

He dropped Katniss off at her mom and dad's house; she tried to insist on going with him but he would not allow it, citing that she didn't need the added stress in her condition.

He returned hours later with a disappointed expression on his face. She didn't have to ask; she knew that he didn't get his money back from his mother. Mr. Mellark must have escaped to the factory after the earlier conflict and so Peeta had to face his mother alone. He wouldn't share the details but the gist of the story was that his mother reasoned that the money would cover the cost of the car (which his father gave him) and his belongings such as his clothes and other personal things. Peeta said that he wanted to prove to his mother that he didn't need _her_ money to get along. As much as they would miss the money, Katniss agreed.

Her parents offered to let them stay with them until they found a place. As much as the young Mr. and Mrs. Mellark hated to do it, they had no other choice. On Sunday they skipped church and went looking for a house or apartment. The search had come to nothing; the town was going through a boom, and between the bakery, the Cartwright shoe factory, and several other smaller shops there were more workers than available housing. By the time they sorted through places that didn't allow children and that they could afford with their newly reduced budget, there weren't many choices left. They found a small upstairs apartment, but it was infested with cockroaches and Peeta nixed it instantly. Another place they found would have been nice, but the landlord took one look at Katniss and said that he didn't rent to Indians. By the time they returned to the Everdeen home Sunday evening, they were both flustered, Peeta especially.

They camped out in the setting room; Peeta slept on the floor and she on the couch, but neither one got much rest. He tried to convince Katniss to go sleep in the bed with Prim, but she couldn't stand to leave him alone, he looked so defeated.

This was a side of Peeta that she'd seen only glimpses of. To most people Peeta was confident, charming, and charismatic. Yet Katniss knew the truth; he had poor self-esteem and doubted himself constantly, and it broke her heart. She wanted to hold him close and console him the best way she knew how to get his mind off their setbacks. But she knew that they couldn't be intimate in her family's home; Prim was only a few feet away in the next room and her parents were sleeping directly above them.

When her husband got ready for work Monday morning, Katniss thought that he looked terrible; he'd not gotten a good night's sleep in days and he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

There was one upside to all their recent bad luck and mistreatment: Mrs. Everdeen was back to being sweet and loving to Katniss and Peeta and had even packed him a lunch before he left for work and fussed over him at the breakfast table, straightened his tie, and patted down some of his wayward curls. Katniss liked to see Peeta with her mom; she always wanted a son and he never had the sort of motherly affection that she had taken for granted her whole life.

The day passed slowly and Katniss felt strange not going to work. She scoured the newspaper for rental listings but found nothing promising. Her mother sat her down, and they had a long talk about pregnancy and determined that the baby would come in early Spring, not late winter as Katniss had thought. Her mother to cry again knowing how quickly her daughter had given in to temptation. Katniss decided that it was best to give her mother some space so she excused herself to rest in Prim's bed during the day although she never actually slept. Her stomach was causing her problems again, although she wasn't sure if it was due to the pregnancy or strain of their current circumstances.

A little after four o'clock Peeta came back from work looking tired but with a smile on his face when she greeted him at the door with a chaste kiss. After they exchanged pleasantries he told her, "Hey, Haymitch has offered to let us stay in his mom's old place. We can go look at it right now if you like."

They told Mrs. Everdeen and Prim that they were going to look at a house and then set off to the Abernathy property. Haymitch lived on his family's ancestral property; one of his forefathers bought it after the Civil War and named it Victor's Hallow. It wasn't much more than about thirty acres of hills and trees, as any farmland that once went with it had been sold off or grown over long ago.

Katniss had to admit that she was curious about Haymitch's home; she'd heard about the beautiful house that he'd built for his wife, but it could not be seen from the road. Finally a large, dilapidated two-story bungalow set in a clearing came into view. She imagined that it was something special when it was first built. It was large but not huge, and the craftsmen details were attractive but not gaudy. The lawn was recently mowed, but there were no flowers or bushes in sight, making the place look barren. "So, this Mr. Abernathy's place?" she commented.

"Yeah, but there is another house on the property too," Peeta explained. He pulled into next to Haymitch's truck and soon the back door of the bungalow opened and a three-legged mutt hobbled out and barked at them.

"Haymitch has a dog?" Katniss whispered to Peeta.

"Yeah, he found her on the side of the road and nursed her back to health," he explained in a hushed voice. "He's a big softy. Shhh, don't let it get around."

The property's owner sauntered out of the house dressed in his suit pants and shirt with his suspenders hanging off his pants. He also had a mason jar in his hand filled with a clear liquid that Katniss knew wasn't water. "Welcome to Victor's Hallow," Haymitch called out, he then looked at his dog, "Ripper, shut up."

"Ripper?" Katniss questioned and patted the dog's wiry hair when she sat at her feet.

"Yeah," Haymitch replied, "she'll rip you a new ass if she doesn't like you. She thinks sheruns the place. I almost named her Effie, but that would be an insult to the dog."

Peeta and Katniss shared a knowing smile. Haymitch would be lost without Effie Trinket and everybody knew it. She'd been the secretary at Mellarks for the last seven years. Not only did she manage his career, she also managed him. She made sure that his personal bills were paid, had a handy man to mow the yard and keep up the property, and fuel in his truck and that he had a safe ride home when he'd had too much to drink. Katniss had inkling that it was Effie that suggested to Haymitch to offer Peeta the house, as he never would have thought of it so quickly.

Haymitch motioned his hand behind his house, "Well, come on it's over here. My parents built the place. It ain't all that great… but, hey I'll let you stay in it for free. It's just sitting here, so you might as well use it."

They followed him to a small house that sat behind his and was nearly obscured by trees and honeysuckle that grew up the old picket fence. But once they were closer, Katniss could see a small, two-story clapboard house. Judging by the few paint chips that clung to the exterior it must have been painted yellow at one point. The green shutters were closed to protect the panes of glass. The metal roof looked like it was in surprisingly good shape. There was a massive amount of geese droppings all over the porch, telling Katniss that there was sizeable flock somewhere nearby. She recalled Peeta telling her about Haymitch's _babies_ before.

After some jimmying of the door, Haymitch was finally able to get it open and lead the way inside. The smell of mothballs was what hit her first, and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkened room. Haymitch flipped on the lights and announced, "This is the sitting room." The interior wall had a large fireplace with a mantel. The walls were covered with pale blue paper that was peeling in places.

She looked to Peeta to gauge his reaction, but his face looked grim. She knew that a house in this sort of condition would be a surprise for him; it was a drastically different than his house on Merchants Lane. This house was not built to impress the neighbors; it was made to serve one purpose, to separate man from nature, to keep its inhabitants warm in the winter, and place to escape the bugs in the summer.

Haymitch led them into the next room, a respectably-sized kitchen. "I had the kitchen and bathroom added on in '29. Moonshine sold particularly well that year," Haymitch told them with a little bit of pride in his voice.

There was an old cast-iron, wood-burning cook stove, an white enamel sink on the wall, a small icebox, a cupboard with a flour bin and galvanized work top and a little kitchen table. The walls were made of bead board and were aged yellow. There was dust on every surface and cobwebs in the corners, but everything seemed intact. Katniss was encouraged by the lack of a mousey aroma. The upside of having geese around was that typically a lack of rodents was a result.

Haymitch pointed out the bathroom; it was cramped, but it would serve its purpose. It had a tiny claw foot tub, a pedestal sink, and toilet. Haymitch commented, "It's little, but it's nicer than the outhouse and washtub I had growin' up."

Katniss turned on the faucet, and it sputtered for a second before it started to spew dark red water. Peeta asked in a horrified voice, "Is it broken?"

"No, it just need to run for a while, it will be fine," Katniss assured him.

"You can tell that you never lived outside of the city limits," Haymitch chuckled at him. "It's just a little rust boy. It won't hurt you."

The next room was a small bedroom with tarnished brass bed frame, a dresser, and a wooden bureau with a broken door.

Finally the tour ended with at the top of a steep, narrow flight of stairs that Peeta had duck to avoid hitting his head. The room at top was open with a low ceiling.

Haymitch looked at his emptied jar. "Looks like I'm all out, I'm going to my place to get more. Come and get me when you decide something."

When they heard the front door close Katniss took her husband's hand and asked, "So what do you think?"

"Are you kidding me? This place is a wreck," he said sarcastically. He then took a deep breath and apologized, "I'm so sorry, Katniss, I never imagined that it would be this bad. I just hoped that this might be the answer to all our problems. But I was obviously mistaken."

"No you weren't. Honestly it's not that bad," she said sincerely then walked over to the window and opened the pane of glass and threw open the shudders to let in some fresh air and light. "Yes, it needs a good cleaning and a little paint. But the roof is good, the floor is solid, and it will need some work but it's not that much worse than my parent's house on Seam Street…It won't be forever. If he lets us stay here for free then we can save our money for a place of own. It wouldn't be so bad out here. I really miss living out in the country, I've not had a good night's sleep since we moved to town."

"So you want to take it?" he asked a little taken aback.

"Yeah, it's better than the cockroach infested apartment," she pointed out.

Peeta visibly cringed, "Ah, that place was awful. I still feel dirty just thinking about it."

"This place isn't perfect, but we can make it work for a little while," she admitted. "We'll have to cut our own wood for the winter and we'll have to get some furniture, but we should be able to do it. I have to get my last paycheck and you'll have yours. We can get some secondhand things and we can work on getting it move-in ready after you come home from work this week. We might be able to move in by the weekend. "

He seemed to be deep in thought, contemplating what she'd said. Katniss walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his middle and told him, "Anyways, I'm looking forward to finally getting to experience what it is like to make love in a bed."

He hugged her back and a love-struck smile crept over Peeta's face. "That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"I'm looking forward to it," she said softly and played with one of his shirt buttons then reached a hand behind his neck and pulled his head down so that his lips met her. Katniss had intended for the kiss to be sweet and loving, but it quickly escalated into something entirely different. His tongue begged for entry into her mouth and coaxed hers to play. She let out a little moan of pleasure, and one of his hands cupped the back of her head while the other drifted down to the swell of her rear, and he grasped it firmly to press her tighter against him. She could feel the heat and longing seeping from her core, and she desperately wanted to find some friction to relieve it. But sadly she knew that now was not the time or the place.

Peeta must have had the same thought because he broke the kiss. "We'd better stop," he panted and loosened his grip on her. "I don't think that it would be polite to _break in_ the place in before we officially agree to take it. Anyhow I don't think that there is a clean surface anywhere and I would hate to have to explain to your parents how we got so filthy."

They fully parted and made their way down the stairs and opened up all the windows to air out the house on their way out. They walked the thirty yards or so to Haymitch's house where they found him sitting in a lawn chair on the back porch with Ripper's head in his lap and a brand new jar of shine in his hand. The young couple agreed to take the house. Haymitch agreed with a grunt and said, "Welcome to the neighborhood."

They went back to the Everdeens' home and shared the news and they made a list of what necessities they would need. That night Katniss could tell that Peeta was finally able to sleep.

The next day Mrs. Everdeen took her daughter shopping for cleaning supplies and looking for secondhand furniture and dishes. When Peeta and Mr. Everdeen came home from work and they all ate a hurried dinner then the whole family piled into Peeta's car and drove out to Victor's Hallow to work on the house. The women worked on cleaning while the men fixed the furniture, swept the chimney, and cut wood. Haymitch even wandered over a time or two to check on the progress. They quickly learned that the water heater was no longer in working order. Katniss and Peeta did not feel right asking for Haymitch to replace it since he was already allowing them to live there for free. All of their hot water would have to come from stove.

By Friday night Mrs. Everdeen declared it fit to be lived in, but just only. Saturday was move-in day, but the search for furniture had not been overly successful since they needed so much in so little time and had a very limited budget. Katniss and her mother had found a few mismatched kitchen chairs, one hideous yet functional lamp, and a couple of wobbly end tables.

Her parents gave them new linens and towels as a wedding gift. By noon their few meager possessions were moved and in place. Katniss parents wished them a misty-eyed goodbye and Peeta showed them to the truck. Prim stayed back with Katniss on the porch. Katniss was surprised when her sister hugged her tightly and started to cry.

"What's wrong, Little Duck?" Katniss wondered.

"It actually feels like you're married now; it didn't seem real until today," Prim sniffled. "It just seems like you're not my sister anymore."

"Oh, Prim, just because I'm married doesn't mean that I'm not your sister anymore," she soothed and placed a kiss on her sister's brow. "I'll always be your sister and I love you as much as I ever did…I'm just a short drive away and we'll see each other a few times a week, alright?"

Prim nodded her head and Katniss walked her to their father's truck and Peeta helped her in. They all traded final goodbyes and Katniss watched her family pull away. Peeta wrapped an arm around Katniss's shoulder and pulled her close.

That's when the realization hit Katniss: it was only going to be her and Peeta now. They were actually going to live as man and wife from here on out. During the week, there had been so much going on that the fact they were now married hadn't really been an ever-present thought and she suddenly felt guilty about that. Peeta had been more like a houseguest than her husband over several nights. "Katniss, what's the matter?" Peeta asked with concern in his voice.

She looked at her husband and felt tears falling down her face, and she cursed her fluctuating hormones and sobbed, "Nothing, I…I."

He wrapped her up in his strong, warm arms and consoled her, "Shh, we're going to be fine. We can do anything as long as we're together, remember?" He then stood back to look at her and brushed some tears off her cheek and jokingly told her, "If you keep crying like that I'm going to think because you don't want to be alone with me."

"Oh, Peeta," she chuckled and tried to compose herself. "It's just that so much has changed so quickly. Two weeks ago I thought that you would be in Columbus right now. I never imagined this."

"Me neither," he commiserated. "I thought that the house would be nicer and our only neighbor wouldn't be a crotchety lush." He mused, "Just think about it, this winter you, me, and Haymitch can sit around the fire and exchange stories."

"We'd better not let him too close to the hearth because he might go up in flames," she said, only partly in jest.

"We better not then," he grinned and steered them to the house. "Speaking of we'd better get a fire going so we can cook later."

The young Mellarks entered the house. The living room was bare except for a rocking chair that they'd found in a closet and an end table that held the ugly lamp that had a shade that looked like a Chinese hat. They went into the kitchen and she watched Peeta expertly start a fire in the antique stove. "How did you get so good at that?"

"The old bakery, the one on Main Street, had coal burning ovens. It was one of the first things that Dad taught me how to do," he recalled dreamily. It was hard to imagine that the Mellarks weren't always as wealthy as they currently were. A little over a decade ago, the family lived in the apartment over the bakery. It was the one of the few about his childhood that Peeta would talk about in terms of pleasant memories.

"You miss those days don't you?" she asked from the kitchen table.

"Yeah," he said sadly. "Everything changed when we closed the small bakery. I hardly ever saw my dad while he and Haymitch were getting things off the ground with the factory. Mother changed, too."

Katniss knew that Peeta, despite the fact that his family had money, had suffered much in his childhood and she wanted their future to be better than his past. She sighed and said, "Well, at least we're better off now than we were a week ago at this time."

"Yeah, we do have a bed now," he reminded her and gave her a grin. Peeta walked the short distance to where she sat at the table. "And if I recall, there was something you said about doing in a bed that we've never done before and that you wanted to do."

"Take a nap?" she teased.

Peeta took her by the hand and helped her up and whispered in a lusty voice, "Maybe afterwards."He kissed her greedily and picked her off the floor, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

She giggled as he carried her to their first floor bedroom; it actually turned out to be a cheerful little room. The brass bed was now shining after she, her mother and Prim spent an hour polishing it with lemon juice. They had beat out the dust the old cotton batten mattress and scrubbed the cover so that it smelled fresh and clean.

Peeta set her on the bed, "You've been driving me crazy all week in those rolled up jeans."

"These old things?" she asked, slightly amused. "They're just what I wear around the house to work in."

"Good, I hope that you wear them all the time," he said huskily and popped the button, slid down the zipper, and pulled the denim garment off her legs, "Simply so I can take them off of you. You have no idea how many times I've dreamed of being with you like this."

"I think I do… I've wanted you too," she replies shyly and pulled his tee shirt off. This was something new—making love in the daylight and having room to move. They were used to the cramped quarters of Peeta's back seat while parked in secluded spots. Even though the bed was small by most people's standards, it was luxurious compared to what they'd been used to.

Peeta helped her out of her shirt and bra, followed by her panties, leaving her bare before him. He paused to stare at her. Katniss felt her face get hot as her husband boldly gazed at her with darkened eyes. "What?!"she said with a giggle and covered her breasts with her hands.

"Please don't cover up," he whispered and moved her hands above her head. "I've been dreaming of you for years now and I've gotten to touch you, but I've not really gotten to see you. I just want to enjoy the sight."

She sighed, "Well you should enjoy it now, because I'm going to get fat and ugly pretty soon."

"Oh, no I am never going to think that," he promised her sincerely and kissed her neck where he knew it made her squirm. She reacted accordingly but with her arms pinned down, she was defenseless. He chuckled and placed open-mouthed kisses down her neck and continued down the valley between her breasts and paused just below her navel and then met her eye. "In fact, I think that you're getting even prettier every day."

She rolled her eyes. "You know we're married now and you don't have to over embellish how pretty I am anymore."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said and then captured one of her dusky peaks in his mouth, making his wife gasp in surprise as he suckled and teased it gently with his teeth. When he released it, he gave her a naughty look, "But I've never over embellished anything about your beauty; in fact if anything I've held back. Do you know how often I had to bite my tongue the first few times we went out? All I ever have wanted was to be with you." As soon as the words left his lips, he began to pay the other peak equal attention and he finally let go of her arms and his hand traveled down to her ready center and finally worked to relieve the dull ache there.

"Awww, Peeta," she mewled, as much a reply to his words as it was to the exquisite things that he was doing to her body. She was thoroughly convinced that he could have her dripping wet from words alone if he was ever so inclined. Katniss buried her fingers in his thick wavy locks and pulled him even closer as he sank two fingers inside her and stroked the bundle of nerves with his thumb. He groaned in satisfaction; she could feel the reverberation in her chest and it gave her a chill and sent her over the edge. She arched back and came around his fingers, leaving her both breathless and boneless.

Katniss could feel him rise off her body, and she heard him hurriedly working to take off his pants; she opened her eyes to see him comically trying to push his pants off over his shoed feet. She had to bite to lip to stifle a giggle. Apparently in the rush, he forgot that his shoes were double knotted.

Peeta looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Are you laughing at me?"

"I'm trying not to," she grinned and rose from the bed and then motioned him to sit on the edge. "Here, let me."

He nodded and followed her direction like an obedient child, and her nimble fingers quickly unknotted his shoes and pulled them off followed by his pants and boxers. "Lay back," she urged, knowing that he enjoyed her taking the lead. Her small hand wrapped around his ready member and began to stroke him. Peeta growled on contact and screwed his eyes shut.

Katniss found herself watching her own hand work his engorged member; while doing such a thing would have been unthinkable just a few months ago, now it felt natural. She had a little sense of pride when it got even harder in her hand. He began to buck his hips.

"Katniss," he panted, "I need to be inside you now."

She straddled his lap and eased herself down onto him slowly, rocked her hips gently and then sank down on to him completely. She gasped at the full feeling and began to rise and fall in order to relieve the overwhelming sensation. The bed was totally different than the backseat of the car; the mattress was much softer and made it more difficult for her to move above him.

"Give me your hands," he whispered and offered his outstretched hands. Katniss took them and found that it was easier to make bolder moves. She shifted so that she kissed him while she rolled her hips and felt the pleasure build deep inside her, but the peak was just out of reach.

Without warning or parting their bodies, Peeta wrapped his arms around her waist and flipped them over so quickly that she squeaked out in surprise. He supported his weight with his arms, sucked the sweet spot where her neck and shoulder met and pumped into her at a relentless pace. "Let me hear you, please," he pled.

Katniss gripped his biceps tightly to hold herself place and moaned his name and something incoherent when she finally found her high. With a few more shallow thrusts, he followed her and she could feel the heat of his release deep inside her. His body relaxed and when he pulled out of her, she instantly missed him.

Peeta rolled to his side and nuzzled his nose next to her ear and rested his hand on her belly. They just snuggled and caught their breath. She was just starting to drift off to sleep when said, "I wonder what the baby is."

"What do you mean?" she asked drowsily.

"I mean, I wonder if it is a boy or a girl," he replied, and without looking at him she knew that he was smiling.

"I want to give you a son."

"Maybe next time." He shrugged his shoulders.

She eyes flew open. "Next time?!" she said in a stunned tone. Katniss could hardly think about tomorrow, let alone years from now.

Peeta smiled widely and chuckled, "Yeah, I would like to have at least a couple, more even, if we get along fine." He voice became more thoughtful, and he began to rub her stomach. "I think this one is a girl…I _want_ this one to be a girl. When I have happy dreams, it is of you and a baby in a pink dress."

Katniss felt slightly guilty in that moment; ever since she discovered that she was pregnant she wasn't really able to imagine that _it_ was going to be a real person someday. The pregnancy had been little more than an abstract idea and was simply something that had caused drastic change in her life and that made her sick on occasion. Even as of now, she couldn't make a connection that soon she and Peeta were going to be parents in a few months time.

Katniss found herself somewhat envious of Peeta and perhaps annoyed at his Pollyanna-like outlook on life. Here she was, so scared of the unknown, and he was happily dreaming of a life for them, with not just one child but with several. She had known that Peeta wasn't like most other boys; he was different and was the best that mankind had to offer and that thought comforted her, and she knew how truly blessed she was to have him.

Sleep was pulling her under; she was content and sated in her husband's arms. The last thought she had before surrendered to her exhaustion was that she hoped that she could be a person worthy of being Peeta's wife and the mother to his children.

**Thank you so much for reading! **

**You can also find me on tumblr as izzy samson. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to everyone who has taken the time review and comment on this story. I'm so sorry for the delay, this story takes me longer to update because I'm basically writing two chapter for every time.**

**I want to thank two of my favorite ladies, Court and Kismet, for beta-ing this for me. Love you guys!**

**Always a Blessing **

**Chapter 4**

**June 1955**

For the second Friday in a row, Katniss found herself at the drive-in movies, sitting next to Peeta in the front seat of his car. The only difference this week was that she was snuggled up comfortably to his side and was being held there tight by his powerful arm. They were sharing bag of popcorn and a single soda pop while they pretended to watch the western on the big screen.

They were alone for the first time all week and hadn't even traded more than chaste kisses since last Saturday night. While in the presence of others—especially her family, Peeta was nothing but respectful and gentlemanly. Although there was something different in the air this evening; she could feel Peeta watching her and not the movie.

"What is so interesting, Mr. Mellark?" Katniss finally asked.

"You," he said sincerely.

"What about me?"

"Everything," he explained. "You're so…" He searched for the word he wanted and finally breathed out. "You are so exotically beautiful. When most people look at you, they would assume that you have brown eyes. But no, you have these gorgeous grey ones, yet the color is never same. They're always changing. Sometimes they are the color of storm clouds and other times they're more like the color of sterling silver. It's such a lovely contrast with your skin and hair. You don't see that kind of beauty here in Panem all that often."

Katniss didn't know how to respond; she'd been told that she was pretty in the past, but never beautiful, let alone in way that he was describing her now. "You make me sound like some sort of foreign princess," she scoffed.

"To me you are," he insisted and rested his forehead on hers. Katniss couldn't believe how comfortable she was with this sort of intimacy with him. The few times Gale tried to hold her close like this she had never felt at ease with it. Their little moment was disrupted by a rude shaking of the car.

"Peeta-bread, what do we have here?" a young man's voice called. Katniss could feel the boy beside her cringe and they parted some.

Peeta cursed under his breath, "Damn it!"

The door quickly opened, "So this is what has been keeping you busy all week?" The young man, who looked like stockier, darker-haired Peeta, smiled like a brat with a secret and Katniss instantly recognized himas Jon, the middle Mellark brother. "Hello, Miss?"

Peeta stepped out of the car and offered his hand to help her out."Katniss, allow me to introduce you to my brother, Jon," he said in a just barely polite tone. "Jon, this is Katniss Everdeen."

Jon's eyes went wide, with recognition. "Hey…you were one of Hawthorne's girls weren't you?"

She had tobite her tongue to keep herself from saying something rude. Gale had a reputation as a ladies man and could charm rich and poor girls alike. She forced a smile onto her face before she replied stretching the truth slightly, "No, we are just friends."

"Jon, be nice," a soft voice from behind the large man warned, and Madge Undersee stepped out from behind her boyfriend.

Katniss didn't even notice her until that moment, butif it was because Jon was so big and loud or if it was that she was so reserved and quiet, she didn't know. Katniss and Madge had always been on friendly terms; they passed many lunch periods in companionable silence and even spoke politely to each other from time to time. In fact, Madge had been one of the few things she'd missed about school and had thought about visiting her a couple times after she dropped out, but never did.

When she and Madge's eyes met, the tall blonde gave her a genuine-appearing smile and approached her and gave her a friendly hug. "Katniss, how lovely to see you,"she said. "You look so well."

"Thank you," Katniss replied. "That dress is so pretty; pink was always your color."

"Well, well, well," Jon interrupted and slapped his brother on the shoulder, "Isn't this going to upset Delly Cartwright?! Here, her parents sent her off to that fat farm just to win over Peeta and hell, he's already got a girl."

Madge gave an apologetic grimace and then corrected her boyfriend, "It is not a _fat farm_, it's a spa, and she wasn't doing it for Peeta, she is doing it for herself."

"Yeah, yeah," Jon dismissed her. "Mrs. Cartwright keeps telling Mother about all the weight that Delly has supposedly lost and that Peeta would think that she's a real looker now."

"We can't help what our mothers want." Peeta's arm wrapped protectively around Katniss's shoulder as he addressed his brother evenly, "Delly and I are only ever going to be friends."

"That's going to break her chubby little heart," Jon joked, although nobody laughed.

Madge broke the tense silence that followed, "Katniss, I want some Junior Mints, would you like to come with me?"

She nodded in reply, taking the invitation as an excuse to leave the tense atmosphere. Madge looked expectantly at her boyfriend before he finally pulled out his wallet and handed her a couple of ones, "Get me some Jujubes, will ya?" Madge gave him a severelook, and he added in a much more polite tone, "Please."

Madge took Katniss by the arm and started in the direction of the concession stand. Once they were out of earshot she began to talk, "I'm so sorry about Jon. He doesn't always realize that there are more thoughts and opinions in this world other than his own…But he gets it, honest. You haven't met Mrs. Mellark yet, have you?"

"No, I haven't," Katniss admitted.

"You're not missing much," Madge whispered and then changed the subject. "I tried to visit you once, at Snow's farm…but your family had moved and I didn't know where to find you after that. How is your sister?"

"Very well, thank you," Katniss replied. "She may have to wear a brace for the rest of her life, but at least she can be without the crutches now."

They stood in line to get the candy and chatted. Madge explained that she wouldn't be going to college because she couldn't leave her father alone with her sick mother, and since she was as good as engaged that she didn't need an education. While her own circumstances were totally different, Katniss could empathize with Madge, giving up her own life for her family. But where her own sacrifices took her out into the wider world, Madge's seem to isolate her even more. She couldn't help but to wonder if Peeta also had his life dictated to him in such a manner.

When the girls returned, the brothers were having a not-so-hushed conversation. Katniss could hear Jon saying, "Mother is going to have a fit."

"I don't care," Peeta responded. "She's always throwing a fit no matter what I do; at least I can be happy when I'm outside of the house."

They both quieted when they saw the girls approach them. Jon announced, "Well, I suppose that we'll leave you two to enjoy the movie now."

Madge smiled sweetly. "Maybe we can go double sometime?"

"Yeah, that would be fun," Peeta agreed, but Katniss could hear a hint of insincerity in his voice. The other couple left and they re-entered the car.

"I'm sorry about that," he said sincerely.

"Oh, Madge already apologized for him," Katniss smiled warmly. "You're not responsible for what your brother says; besides he has always been a jackass."

Peeta nearly choked as taking a sip from the cup.

"Well he is," she chuckled.

"That he is," he agreed and then smiled at her adoringly just like he had done earlier. "But sadly, all the world can't be as wonderful as you."

She rolled her eyes and laughed, "Ahhh, Peeta are you planning on a career in politics? Because you can certainly tell the sweetest lies."

"Miss Everdeen, I resent that. I speak only the truth in all matters concerning you," he informed her seriously. Peeta then became more sober, "And no, Mother decided that Jon will be the lawyer and eventually a politician. Just like she decided that Albert would be a doctor and that I would be the one to eventually take over the family business since my brothers are _too talented _to waste their lives making silly little pies."

She could not wrap her mind around what he had just told her. Katniss just always assumed that Peeta would be the favorite child. He was so warm and genuine, and she wondered how someone like Jon could be considered superior to his younger brother.

"You will make people happy with your baking," she offered. "I know that Prim and I used to always get huge smiles on our faces whenever we saw that a 'Mellarks'' box or bag had come into the house. It was a treat. I doubt that a politician ever made anybody as happy as we were to see that blue lark on those boxes."

He gave her an honest, meaningful look, "I don't think that I've ever been so pleased to be the least of the Mellark boys."

"You are hardly the least of your brothers," she said before considering where she was going with it. He looked at her expectantly; he wanted an explanation. Her cheeks got red and she elaborated shyly, "I think that you're the best Mellark boy I've ever met."

He chuckled said, much to her chagrin, "Yeah, well I don't have much competition; you're only acquainted with Jon."

She pondered his words for a moment and then confidently told him, "You don't have competition anywhere, Peeta."Then for good measure, she sealed her words with a kiss. He simply smiled at her and then enclosed her in his arms and returned her kiss; this one was searing and when their lips finally parted, she was left wanting more.

Peeta took a deep breath. "We'd better stop for now, I would hate for someone to catch us like this. And if we leave now, it would be suspicious."

She reluctantly agreed and returned her attention to the movie, or at least she intended to. "So, Delly Cartwright is out of town this summer?" she found herself asking. The thought of Delly having to be sent off to lose weight was absurd to her; sure she was bigger than most girls, but to Katniss she always just appeared to be big boned, not fat. Delly couldn't help her large frame anymore than Katniss could control being short.

"I guess so," Peeta said heavily. "I really haven't talked to her in a while. We used to be good friends, but then we had something of a falling out."

_A falling out with Delly?_What Katniss recalled of Delly Cartwright was that she was cheerful and outgoing, almost obnoxiously so. She was even friendlier than Peeta, which was almost impossible. How the two nicest people in her class could have spat so big that they hardly spoke was impossible for her to fathom.

"What did you two fight about?"

"It wasn't really a fight," Peeta said softly, as if the topic caused him pain. "We were great pals growing up, even before we moved out of the small bakery. Last winter she told me that her feelings for me had changed and that she wanted to be my girlfriend. I don't feel that way about her. You see, Delly and I are too much alike; we wouldn't be good together. I told her that it had nothing to do with her but she didn't believe me and decided that there had to be something wrong with her, for example her weight. I explained my feelings to her time and again but I couldn't convince her, so I distanced myself, because I was afraid that maybe I was somehow leading her on. I know it makes me sound like some kind of jerk."

"No, it doesn't," she assured him and squeezed his hand. "That's what happened to Gale and me. Well, sort of."

Peeta turned to examine her, and his expression begged for information. She had never really spoken aloud about what had transpired between her and Gale Hawthorne, not even to Prim or her mother.

She cleared her throat, "It was two years ago, between sophomore and junior year. He was going into the Army in a few weeks time and he said that he wanted to spend time with me. It started off as innocent and then we kissed a couple of times. I was curious, and he said that he had started to look at me differently, although it just never felt right. So I told him that I only wanted to be his friend, but it was never the same again. I think that he was upset with me. He left for boot camp, and I lost my best friend."

It was Peeta's turn to squeeze her hand and confessed,"I used to be so jealous of him, the way you always lit up around him and because of all the time you spent with him."

Katniss felt her face flush at the thought of Peeta noticing her before. She told him honestly, "There was nothing to be jealous of."

Peeta smiled so wide that Katniss thought for sure that his cheeks had to hurt."So…what does it feel like when I kiss you?"

"It feels…right," she replied, unable to give him the words worthy of him. When she kissed Peeta, she was finally able to understand what all the fuss was about. She could comprehend why the women in movies were always talking about curling toes and being left breathless.

He motioned his head to the movie screen, "The movie is over…would you like to go for a drive?"

"Yes," she answered much too quickly, making them both chuckle.

A short while later they found themselves down the same back country road they discovered the week prior. In no time at all and with very few words they were wrapped up in each other. Warm kisses quickly became heated ones, hesitant touches of tongues turned into bold explorations.

How long they were at it Katniss didn't know; she was too caught up in the intense, all consuming pleasure that her body was enjoying. It wasn't just the kissing. It was the way that her body thrummed with delicious anticipation. Somehow she was laid out on the seat, with Peeta over top of her with one arm around his neck and the other buried in his hair. He was supporting some of his weight on his elbows and straddling her thighs.

Peeta pulled back some and panted, "Katniss…we shouldn't be doing this."

She was surprised; from what she'd heard at school and from the girls at work, the man was never the one to hesitate. (In fact according to some, it was physically impossible to.) The disappointment must have shown on her face because he explained, "It's not that I don't want to, because I want to do this more than I want to breathe."

She asked, "Then why stop?"

"Because I want to do right by you," he said and pushed some wayward hairs out of her face. "I don't want to pressure you into anything."

"Believe me, Peeta," she said confidently, "if I didn't want to do this, then I would be stopping you. Remember what I could do with a math book as a girl."

"I'll never forget," he grinned. "Just promise that if anything we're doing is too much, tell me."

She couldn't understand how anything they did could be _too much_ because to her when they were like this, it was not enough. Katniss hadn't ever had too much interest in the opposite sex the way that other girls her age did until she'd been kissed by Peeta. When she allowed Gale to kiss her, it had more to do with trying to figure out what all the fuss was about and not because of any romantic feelings towards him.

"I will," she promised and pulled his head back down to rejoin his lips to hers. Peeta relaxed in her arms and allowed more of his weight to rest on her. She relished it and sighed into his mouth. He shifted slightly and one of his legs settled between hers and they inched apart slowly. They kissed and their bodies moved against each other; it was unlike anything she'd experienced and yet somehow her body knew what to do. Her center fit snuggly against his thigh causinga rush of heat and longing.

She could feel something growing hard on her hip and took her a second or two to process what was happening. When she realized that it was his physical response to what they were doing, she became a little more emboldened and opened her legs wider, and without preamble he took his place there. He groaned loudly and rocked his hips. He hoarsely whispered, "You have no clue how many times I've dreamt of this."

She gasped when his hardness rubbed where her aching need was radiating from. Her head was spinning; she wanted more. _No, they ought to they stop_, but it felt so good that she responded in kind. The sensation was pleasant, although she knew that there was more to be had. Peeta began to move faster, and then suddenly stopped gave her a guilty look and said in a gravelly voice, "We need stop now… it's time to get you home."

The couple reluctantly parted and straightened themselves up so that they could get back before curfew. They were silent on the way to town, both lost in their own thoughts as they sat close. When they pulled in front of the Everdeen home Katniss asked, "Peeta, why did you stop earlier?"

"Mrs. Sae does my laundry and I didn't want to her to have to deal with _that._"

The realization of what he was admitting to dawned her, and she made an awkward, "Oh."

Even in the dark she could tell that he was blushing, "You have no clue what effect you have on me."

She thought about her damp panties. "I think I do," she admitted, smiled sweetly, and kissed his cheek, "Thank you for a wonderful night."

"See you again tomorrow?"

"I'm looking forward to it."

He helped her out of the car and as he walked her to the door, he whispered, "I want you to know, that what we did tonight I've never done with anyone else."

"Either have I," she shared. Peeta looked at her in awe.

They parted after one last tame embrace, and she watched his car pull away. Katniss could feel something welling up inside her; it made her feel warm and happy. It felt a lot like love, but she dare not embrace that idea, because thinking like that would only lead to a broken heart.

**September 1955**

Katniss had the strangest feeling walking into the front doors of the factory instead of the employees entrance. Peeta had carpooled with Haymitch to work so that she could have the car to go grocery shopping and he asked if she could come and have lunch with him. She and Peeta had a nice weekend in their own little bubble; they made love, chopped wood, and baked. Although here at the factory,she was now reminded that there was a wider world out there.

She looked at her watch; it was nearly eleven thirty. The workers had lunch before the management so she thought that she would make a quick visit to Annie and Johanna in the break room before going into the office to see Peeta for lunch. The bell rang out and Johanna, as usual, was the first one in the door, she grinned when she saw Katniss and exclaimed, "Hell, if it ain't the newest Mrs. Mellark."

Annie was close behind her and hurried to Katniss and gave her a hug. "Oh, we've missed you!"

"I've missed you, too," Katniss said honestly and returned the embrace. The other workers started to filter in so the trio walked to the far corner so that they could have a more private conversation."So how have things been around here?"

"It has been entertaining," Johanna smirked. "Monday morning word of your elopement got around. I thought that Leevy was going into shock."

Katniss glanced at Leevy, who was having a hushed conversation with Bristel at the opposite side of the room, and judging by the looks on their faces what was being said was not flattering.

"I think my favorite part has been that Cray has left us all alone and has been especially nice to us," Annie whispered. "Word has it that Peeta promised to have him fired if one more girl complained."

Katniss had a swell of pride thinking about how Peeta had taken his new responsibilities so seriously and that he was already doing the workers some good.

They visited for a few minutes; there was much to talk about but it couldn't be said in the full room. Katniss invited Annie and Johanna come out to the house, and they promised to come by sometime soon. On her way out, she waved to Bristel and Leevy who both waved shyly in return, Katniss fought the urge to give them a triumphant smile; she was never one to rub salt into a wound.

When Katniss walked into the office, she was greeted by Effie Trinket who stared at her for a moment before smiling brightly, welcoming her. "Miss, I mean, Mrs. Mellark, how wonderful to see you again. Congratulations on your nuptials."

"Um, thank you very much, Mrs. Trinket. Also thank you for the casserole dish and dish towels, you didn't have to." Mrs. Trinket was the only person other than her parents to give them a gift, if you didn't count Haymitch giving them a place to live.

"Oh, but I wanted to!" the energetic secretary insisted."Peeta is in Haymitch's office and they are on an important phone call, they shouldn't be too much longer. Why don't you take a seat and I'll let them know that you're here?"

Katniss nodded and took a seat. She was not sitting long when Henk Mellark opened the door. "Mrs. Trinket could you give me invoices from last week?" He noticed his daughter-in-law and smiled wide. "Katniss, my dear, how are you?"

"Well, thank you," she replied. Mr. Mellark did not look like he could say the same thing; despite his smile, he looked terribly tired. Katniss wondered if he was getting the brunt of his wife's fury now.

"Come into my office and come visit with me for a while," he invited and held the door for her. She obliged him and entered his office. "So, how is married life?"

"Much nicer now that we have a place to live," she shared and took the seat offered to her. "Peeta's back had to be sore after sleeping on the floor all week."

"Yes, he said that you couldn't find a place to live."

"None that we could afford," Katniss said, trying to mask her annoyance at the situation.

"The price of rent must have gotten really high in the past few years," Mr. Mellark commented. "Peeta had some money put away."

Katniss stiffened. _He doesn't know what his wife did._

"What is wrong dear, are you unwell?" her father-in-law asked in alarm.

"No, just hungry, I got a little light headed," she lied, and her all-too-trusting father-in-law believed her without question.

_That is nothing new._ Katniss truly did like Mr. Mellark, but often felt annoyed with him for never being aware of what was going on with his family. This was just the most recent incident that he had been oblivious to. She felt the anger boil when she thought about the scars on Peeta's body that he admitted in a roundabout way his mother was responsible for, along with the countless times he came to school with a split lip or bruises.

Before she had too much time to ruminate on how neglectful Mr. Mellark was of his family, Peeta popped his head through the office door. "Hello beautiful," he greeted and smiled wide, lifting her spirits almost instantly.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Peeta, my boy, come in," his father welcomed. "How did the call to Mrs. Coin go?"

"Good, I think," he nodded. "I talked to Mr. Boggs; he is much easier to deal with." He then said in a low tone, "She willing to meet with us now. I think that if I can talk to her in person that I can convince her to stick with the company."

Mr. Mellark let out a breath and said, "Good, good."The then pulled out his wallet and some bills, "Well you should get this young lady to lunch."

"No, Dad, I…" he tried to refuse.

Peeta was cut off by his father, who placed the money in his son's hand and replied, "No, I insist. And grab her some pies, she is far too thin." Mr. Mellark winked to Katniss, "You need eat as much as you can and keep strong."

"Yes, sir," she said and gave a weak smile.

As soon as they were in the car, Katniss asked, "You father has no clue about the money, does he?"

Peeta took a deep breath and admitted, "No."

"Why didn't you tell him?"

"I want to prove to my mother that I don't need it," Peeta said evenly. "And I didn't want to put Dad in the middle. I've caused enough problems for him already."

"What other problems?"

Peeta looked at her and explained, "Our biggest investor, Mrs. Coin, has heard that I've chosen not to go to college and she heard about our marriage and now she is questioning the business's future prospects. We want to add an addition to start making bread and to stay competitive. She is putting those plans on hold and threatening to pull her investments all together."

Katniss's heart sank. While the Mellarks may have been wealthy, they were nothing compared to the millionaire Coin family; they needed their investors since the bakery was still a young business. Peeta once told her that the company wouldn't exist without Mrs. Coin. She lent money when the banks wouldn't touch Mellarks' because his father was foreign. She whispered, "I'm so sorry Peeta."

"Why are you sorry?" he questioned.

"Because, I've ruined everything for you," she said somberly.

He took her by the hands, "Now, I'm only going to tell you this just one more time. You have not ruined anything. Everything that we did we did together… I'm glad. I am so happy to be married to you. It is by far the best thing that had ever happened to me." His words were spoken so sincerely that it nearly brought a tear to her eye. "Anyways I think that I could learn more here at the factory than I could at business school. Heck, Mrs. Coin sent her grandson to college and all he got a degree in was skirt chasing."

Katniss laughed despite herself. Alma Coin's grandson, Finnick Odair, was an infamous womanizer. His name was always in the social pages for being connected to several different debutants and divorcees.

Peeta continued, "Think about all the successful people who never went to college, Thomas Edison and Abraham Lincoln didn't have more than a year or two of real schooling each. Look at Haymitch, I don't think that he made it past the sixth grade and he is the shrewdest businessman I know."

"But what can you do if your investors don't have faith in you?" Katniss posed.

"I'll just have to show them that I can do it. I'll have to prove myself to Mrs. Coin. She wants us to meet with her."

"You, Haymitch and your father?" she said hopefully.

"No, you and me, this weekend." He promised, "Everything will be fine. Haymitch said that he and Effie could coach us on what to say and how to act."

"A lot is riding on this isn't it?"

"Yes, it is, the whole factory maybe," Peeta said seriously. "So you can see why I'm not too worried about five hundred dollars."

"I wish that you would have told me about this," Katniss sighed. It felt weight had been put on her shoulders. She never imagined that the choices made in the backseat of his very car would put the livelihood of so many people in jeopardy.

"I just found out this morning. Haymitch had to talk her into even meeting with us. She was threatening to just pull her money before he talked to her." He started the car and tried to sound more chipper."Come, let's get you to lunch."

"Alright," she agreed she and Peeta went to lunch. Katniss tried to eat, but found that she'd lost her appetite.

When they got back to factory Peeta had to hurry back to work, he gave a chaste kiss and promised to see her later. Katniss ran her errands but was terribly distracted; her thoughts kept going back to what she'd heard in the office and she wondered how Peeta could convince that terrible woman that he was still fit to take over the business someday.

When she was finished, she went to her parents' house stop in and say 'hi.' Katniss was sitting at the kitchen table chatting with her mom and sister when there was a knock at the door.

Her mother was busy making a pot of coffee so Katniss volunteered to answer the door. When she did she saw the last person she'd expected to see standing on the porch: Gale Hawthorne. "Catnip!" he said happily.

Before she could even reply, he had her caught up in a hug and lifted her off the ground. "I thought about you every day. It's been months since I heard from you. You never wrote back after that letter I sent in May." He set her down to get a better look at her. "You look good, there's something different about you but I can't say what."

She instantly thought of her pregnancy and drew a blank as to how to respond.

"Katniss, who is it?" Prim asked and hobbled to the entryway. She smiled and greeted Gale, "You're home, are you here to visit?"

"No, my two years is done. I had enough of that," he answered and looked Katniss in the eye."I wanted to be home, where everyone I care for is."

Mrs. Everdeen then made her way to the front door, and she exchanged pleasantries with Gale and then asked Prim to come help her in the kitchen. She left the two old friends alone, but not before giving her daughter meaningful look as if to say, '_You'd better tell him now!'_

"Oh, well I'm sure that your family is happy to have you back," Katniss said trying to make small talk. She'd dreaded the thought of sending a letter to Gale informing him that she was married; now she wished that she had because telling in person was going to be so much more difficult, especially since he never even know that she was seeing anyone.

"Yeah, I just got in last night. I wanted to come see you as soon as I could. So how is it at Mellarks'?"

"Well, actually I don't work there anymore," she confessed.

"What happened?" he asked with his voice full of concern.

Katniss quickly tried to think of ways to say it so it would subtle, but unfortunately, subtlety wasn't her strong suit. So she bluntly said, "I got married."

He jaw dropped, and all the color drained from his face. "What?!" he spat, "This is a joke, right?"

"Gale, you know me well enough to know that I'm not good at telling jokes," she said plainly.

"Who is he?" he asked, his voice tinged with disappointment.

"Peeta Mellark."

"You married a damn Mellark?" he said loudly.

"Shh," she hissed and then pushed him out to the porch. She joined him there and shut the door behind them and explained, "I married Peeta a week and a half ago."

He looked as if his thoughts were going a mile a minute. His eyes went wide and said in disbelief, "You're knocked up, aren't you?" She allowed her silence and scowl to answer for her. Gale continued, "The rich baker boy got his hand caught in the cookie jar, and he had to marry you! I can't believe this out of you. How did you let that happen?"

"It happened because we love each other," she said trying to control her temper. "Peeta married me because he wanted to."

"I find that hard to believe," he said bitterly.

She didn't know if she was more insulted or annoyed that he insinuated that the only reason that someone like Peeta would marry _her_ was because he had to. Katniss had had those thoughts before, but hearing them from Gale only angered her.

"Go to hell, Gale," she said coldly and opened the front door and stepped inside. Her mother was standing on the other side of the door.

"Catnip…" he said in frustration, "Wait, I deserve an explanation!"

Mrs. Everdeen stepped in between the two and calmly said, "Gale, dear, I think you need to go now."

Katniss did not stick around listen anymore; she retreated back to the kitchen where Prim was waiting with an anxious look on her burned her eyes, but she swallowed hard and set her jaw and repeating in her mind, '_Don't cry, don't let Prim and Mom see you cry.' _She was mad at Gale and maybe also herself too. He had always thought so highly of her, and she knew that she had disappointed him.

Prim silently set her chair next to her sister's and wrapped her arms around her in an attempt to console her. Their mother walked in moments later and sat on the other side of her. "I take it you never told Gale that you were dating Peeta?"

Katniss just shook her head.

Her sighed in sympathy and patted her hand. "Gale was just surprised, I'm sure he'll come to his senses and apologize. You know you have to tell Peeta about what happened today?"

Katniss nodded; she knew that she would have to tell Peeta about Gale's visit when he got home. She had done nothing wrong and her husband deserved to know. That wasn't what was bothering her. It was fact that her childhood best was now one more person on her list of people that she had disappointed and let down with her brash decisions: her family, Peeta's family, and now Gale and even the future of the bakery was at stake.

No one ever told her that following your heart would be so hard.

**Thank you so much for reading, I hope that you enjoyed it! I'm interested to know what you think about this story, so please let me know what you think.**

**You can also find me on tumblr as izzy Samson.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to review this story, it really means a lot and helps to inspire me.**

**I would also like to thank my awesome betas Court81981 and Kismet4891, who just also happen to very talented ff authors if you've not read their stuff, I suggest that you do. You won't regret it.**

**Always a Blessing**

**Chapter 5**

**June 1955**

"Brainless, stop day dreaming about Baker Boy," Johanna quipped, and took a drag of her Marlboro as she drove. "His kisses can't be that good, and if they are you'd better watch out or I might steal him from you."

Katniss rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her friend; although she wouldn't admit it she was thinking about Peeta and the heated exchange in his car the previous night.

Johanna showed up at her front porch that Saturday morning insisting that Katniss go along with her to go shopping. In typical Johanna fashion, she did not give her an opportunity to say 'no.' So now Katniss sat in the passenger side of Johanna's ancient Chevy truck.

"I would like to see you try," she deadpanned. "Anyhow, I think you scare him."

"Probably," Johanna said with a quirked eyebrow, "Oh well, good thing for you that blonds just don't do it for me. I much prefer them tall, dark, and handsome."

"So where are we going?" Katniss questioned.

"To Beetee's Appliance Store," she replied. "I want to look for a toaster."

"Oh," Katniss said. "Why isn't Annie coming along with us?"

"She's having a bad day," Johanna shared somberly. "It's the five-year anniversary next week. I had a hell of a time even getting her out of bed this morning. Why don't you use your pull with the boss's son to make sure that she doesn't get fired?"

Katniss knew that Johanna meant it to be a joke, but it was also a serious request. Annie would fall apart every now and again, and she'd lost a few jobs over the years because she would go through terrible bouts of depression. When she was doing well she was great, but when she was bad she was a mess.

It all stemmed from the car accident she was had been in. Annie and her fiancé were cruising in his car when he thought that he could beat a train over the tracks; he was mistaken. The train crashed into the driver's side. His injuries had been horrific;the rumor around town was that he was all but decapitated. Annie had escaped surprisingly unscathed with a few minor broken bones and lacerations, but she was trapped in the car for hours, wide-awake, with her fiancé's broken corpse sitting by her side. She had never got over it.

Johanna parked in front of the downtown store. There was some sort of sale going on, and it was busy. Katniss let her lead the way.

Johanna looked all around the store and totally walked past the toasters. She looked at Katniss and asked in a distant voice, "Stay with me and keep me from doing something stupid."

"Like what?" she asked in confusion.

"Cry," Johanna said simply.

The auburn-haired woman seemed to know exactly where she was going as they made a beeline to the back of the store where a woman and little boy, who looked to be about six, were passing out bags of popcorn. The slight woman had curly red hair with streaks of grey and large eyes; she looked at Johanna with a surprised expression before giving her a nervous smile and then addressed them, "Hello, ladies, how are you today?"

Johanna looked at the little boy with a strange expression on her face, so Katniss took the lead and replied, "We're very well today ma'am, thank you."

The little boy, who was dressed in a cowboy hat and vest with a cap gun on his hip, eagerly handed them both bags of popcorn. Katniss couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something very familiar about him. He smiled wide, revealing several missing baby teeth. "Here we go girls!" He grinned and then motioned for them to get closer, when they both bent over he said, "You're pretty." His face then got bright red and he looked at his feet

"You're sweet," Johanna whispered she reached out her hand as if she were going to touch him and then retracted her hand.

"What are you ladies looking for today?" the woman inquired helpfully.

Johanna just kept looking at the little boy, so Katniss jabbed her with her elbow, then cleared her throat and finally said, "I think I need a new toaster."

The red-haired woman pointed over to her left. "They are in aisle two…Mason, sweetheart, why don't you help out these nice ladies until your dad can talk to them."

The little boy looked thrilled to be able to help. "Yeah Mom." The woman gave him a stern look, and he then corrected, "Oh, I mean _yes_." His mother smiled warmly and he showed Katniss and Johanna to the toaster aisle. He must have listened to many sales pitches over the years because he knew all about the different brands, but that was all he could tell them.

After a few minutes a middle-aged man with thick glasses walked up to them and smiled. "Mason, are you being a good salesman?"

"Yes, Dad, this lady wants the GE," the little boy beamed.

"Oh, does she now? How about you go get one from the stock room?"

"Yes, sir," the boy answered and then ran towards the rear of the store.

The man with glasses gave Johanna a smile, "You know you don't have to buy something every time you want to see him? I know that you have at least two other toasters."

"I know," she said softly.

"He is looking forward to going to school, and he already knows how to read."

"You and Wiress are good parents. He always looks so happy," Johanna's voice cracked.

Katniss was totally lost and couldn't follow the conversation. She felt like she was listening in on something private and should walk away, but Johanna had asked her to stay by her side.

"You could spend some time with him if you wanted," the man said sincerely. "We can tell him that you're a friend of the family."

"I don't want to intrude, Beetee," Johanna whispered. "I just like to see him sometimes,"

"If you ever change your mind, you know our number," the man said kindly.

Johanna just nodded. The little boy walked up to them with the toaster box and handed it to her, "Here you go, miss."

"Thank you," she said, and the little boy ran back to his mother to hand out more popcorn. "And thank you, Beetee."

Katniss silently followed Johanna to the register where she paid and then left in such a hurry that she forgot her toaster. Katniss picked it up for her and chased her out the door. Johanna was already in her truck with a lit cigarette in hand in her shaking hand.

"What was that all about?"

Johanna took a particularly long drag and then blew out. "Do you know how I ended up here?"Katniss shook her head, never really having believed the broken-down truck story.

"When I was sixteen I met a guy by the name of Blight. He was older and had a motorcycle. He was a buddy of my stepdad. Long story short, he told me he loved me, I was young and stupid and made the biggest mistake of my life and got knocked up. I told Blight and said that we had to get married." She took a few small puffs and held them in her mouth before breathing them out. "He laughed at me and skipped town. I got really drunk and tried to slit my wrists so that I wouldn't have to deal with it."

Katniss's jaw dropped at her friend's confession. Johanna pushed up her wide bracelet and showed her friend the scars and let out a bitter laugh, "But I even messed that up…I didn't cut deep enough. I woke up in the hospital to a very upset mother and a furious stepfather who only ever thought that I was always trash anyhow. So I was shipped off to my Aunt Cecilia's in Ohio."

She took a final drag before casting off the butt. "She had a friend that she used to be a telephone operator with, Wiress. She and her husband, Beetee, had been married for years and never had any kids and they wanted to adopt a baby. I met them, and they seemed a little _different_ but nice. They had a nice home and a thriving business and would be able to take great care of him. I went to the hospital, gave birth and they took him home. They named him Mason, in honor of me."

It finally clicked for Katniss that's why the little boy looked so familiar: He was the spitting image of Johanna. "He's a beautiful little boy."

Johanna's face lit up, "Thanks, he looks like my dad. Wiress and Beetee have always offered to let me see him."

"Why don't you?" Katniss posed.

"Brainless, I tried to kill him," she spat. "He's alive and well in spite of me. I don't deserve to be a part of his life."

"You were young and ignorant," Katniss tried to console her. If this were any other girl she would want a hug and kind words, but this was Johanna Mason, so she would have to go another route. "And it sounds like that Blight guy was a piece of shit."

Johanna actually smiled and laughed, "You shouldn't cuss Everdeen. It doesn't suit you."

Katniss shrugged then asked, "So why did you want to stay here afterwards?"

"I like being able to see Mason every now and again. Whenever they have a sale I go and try to catch a glimpse…it makes me feel like I at least did one worthwhile thing in my life. Besides, I didn't have anywhere to go and no one who wanted me," Johanna said. "My stepdad made it clear that he didn't want me to come back, and my mom has never even written to me to see how I was. I stayed with my aunt for a while, but after Mason was born I went kinda wild, going to bars and sleeping around. She had three young kids in the house and asked me to leave. I was upset at the time but now I understand."

Katniss had no clue how to reply to her friend's candid admissions. Johanna gave her a bittersweet smile and said affectionately, "About the closest thing I have to family these days is crazy Annie."

"How about we get Annie a piece of pie? I'll get you one too, my treat," Katniss offered.

"Make it a milkshake, and we have a deal," Johanna smirked. "I get enough pie at work."

"Deal," Katniss grinned.

They went to the Dairy Queen and then took the milkshakes back to Johanna and Annie's upstairs apartment. As they began to climb the stairs Johanna suddenly asked, "So are you gonna sleep with Mellark?"

Katniss was blindsided. "I, uh..."

"Don't worry. You've heard my story—I'm not judging you. I just want to warn you, make sure that you're safe. Use condoms. I'm sure that Peeta would do the right thing by you…But I would hate for you to have find out the hard way, like I did."

Katniss didn't know how to reply and thankfully the subject was dropped when they walked through the apartment door. Johanna's prickliness seemed to instantly disappear as she approached the figure curled up the couch. "Annie, honey, I brought you a visitor and she brought you something."

Annie turned her head towards Katniss and gave her a forced smile. She was mess, her hair was tangled and yesterday's makeup was smeared all over her face; it was a drastic difference compared to the usual polished beauty Annie typically was.

"Hi," Katniss said softly.

Johanna coaxed Annie into sitting up and drinking some of her shake. Katniss couldn't help but to compare them to a mother and child, and suddenly the closeness between the two was more understandable. Johanna went to their tiny kitchen to make them some lunch. Katniss sat beside her melancholy friend.

"I never made love to him," Annie whispered.

"Excuse me?" Katniss said in surprise; it was a very un-Annie like comment.

"Mitchell," she said softly and stared at the wall opposite them. "He wanted us to make love…I told him that I wasn't ready and wanted to wait until we were married. I should have done it," she said and then broke into tears.

"Oh," was all Katniss could think to say. She wrapped her arms around Annie, because she was one of those girls who could be comforted with a hug. "I'm sure that he's forgiven you."

"I'm sure he has," Annie sobbed, "but I've not forgiven myself."

Johanna called for them to join her at the dinette table. Annie came to sit but wouldn't join them in eating tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Katniss spent the afternoon with them before going home to get ready for her date with Peeta.

The day with Annie and Johanna had given her much to think about, but when Peeta showed up all else was forgotten—or at least pushed to the back of her mind. He came by at seven to pick her up andtook her to dinner at a Chinese restaurant; they experimented with different foods and fed each other. They held hands and talked about the places they would like to go to someday; she wanted to see the Grand Canyon, he wanted to see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. She secretly loved the idea of traveling the globe with Peeta, but dismissed it as impossible dream on both counts: being with Peeta long term and traveling further than the state line.

After dinner Peeta asked, "Where would you like to go now?"

"Somewhere far away," she sighed, "Although, tonight I'd settle for a back road."

He smiled and drove the car past the city limits. They found themselves down a dirt road. Almost instantly they picked up where they'd left off the night before. Peeta was on top of her in the front seat. Katniss saw how uncomfortable he was so she shyly suggested that they move to the back seat, which they did.

This time Peeta pulled her on top of him while they made out. His hand rested just below the swell of her breast and her need to feel his hands all over her was intense; without her even thinking about it she slid his hand up with her own, so that his hand covered her breast. She truly expected that he would pull away, but thankfully he took the hint and gently squeezed. His other hand quickly mirrored the action.

The feeling was euphoric and sent a wave of pleasure throughout her body. She was startled by how his attentions to her breasts caused such a desperate need for more of him. Her leg shifted and when she straddled his hips, almost instantly she discovered his hardened length.

She inched her hand down, debating if she ought to or not the entire way. But her lust outweighed any sense of reason at that particular moment. Peeta panted her name when her hand made contact. He then said in a thick voice, "I know that we shouldn't be doing this, but it feels too right to stop."

In the darkness it was easier to quiet their consciences and to embrace what their bodies urged them to do. Katniss rejoined their lips before he could say anymore to cause her to think of reasons to stop. He groaned into her mouth as her hand became bolder and cupped him over his pants, and he bucked into her palm. One of his hands abandoned her breast and he then ran his hand up the inside of her thigh, tickling her through her nylons. His hand ghosted over the apex of her thighs, over her underwear, and she hummed in encouragement. He ever so lightly caressed her before she pressed herself into his hand; she knew that he had to feel how wet she was. Peeta cupped her mound before a finger slipped under her panties.

She gasped at the intrusion of his finger, but he promptly withdrew it only to drag it up her slit to that little button of flesh that she'd dared to tease herself only a time or two before. Peeta said in a husky voice, "Can I take these off of you?"

They shifted so that Katniss reclined against the seat and he pulled off her underwear then pushed up her skirt and resumed his earlier task.

He slowly, tenderly, and methodically massaged the bud, occasionally dipping his finger in her entrance to gather more moisture. Katniss began to gyrate her hips to help along whatever it was that her body was racing towards. She bit her lip to keep from making noise, although it was next to impossible. She came with a shudder and a muffled cry.

"Was that good?" he asked and took her hand to help her sit up.

"It was great, Peeta. It was like nothing I'd ever felt before,"she assured him and reached to his belt and tried unbuckle it.

"Y-you don't have to," he whispered and stilled her hands.

"But I want to do the same for you," she promised him, so he conceded and leaned back into the seat. She popped his button and pulled down his zipper. Katniss didn't know what to do past this; she hadn't thought it through. She admitted softly, "You'll have to tell me what to do."

He pulled his pants down to his knees but left his boxers in place. In the moonlight she could see the outline of the tented cotton material, and she allowed herself to touch it; she could feel the heat of his skin through the thin fabric. It urged her on and suddenly she wanted skin-to-skin contact, so she pulled his boxers down until his erection popped out. She wrapped her fingers around it gingerly. The size of it was impressive and the feel of it was fascinating—she couldn't help to compare it to a velvet-covered buck's antler.

"Grip it tighter," he rasped. Katniss sat astride one his legs so the angle wasn't as awkward. He directed her gently and helped her to set a pace. Soon she had him panting and bucking in her hand; she had also sank onto his thigh and was mirroring his action trying to find another release, without even fully knowing it herself. Unexpectedly, Peeta wrapped an arm around her waist and used the other hand to swing the leg that was between his and placed it on the outside of his. She looked down and realized she was open to him and that they were literally inches away from having sex. The thought was disconcerting and exciting all at the same time. His hand found her core, and he pushed a finger inside her and then another. She began to pump him again, running her fist up and down his length. He worked his fingers in a similar fashion. It felt good, not as intense as when he teased her earlier but still very pleasurable.

He warned, "Katniss, I'm going t-." Although he was too late because Katniss felt something warm and sticky land on her hand and the inside of her slip of her upturned skirt. "Crap," Peeta whispered under breath and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and offered it to her. "I'm so sorry, it just felt so good."

"It's alright, I do my own laundry," she grinned.

"I wish we could do this right," he said sincerely, "in a bed."

"I'll take you any way I can have you," she whispered and rested her head against his.

"Katniss, we're playing with fire here," Peeta said. "I want you more than anything, but I'm afraid of…" he trailed off, yet Katniss knew exactly what he was saying. He was afraid of getting her pregnant, which she also feared.

Johanna and Annie suddenly came to forefront of her mind in the form of the proverbial angel and devil on her shoulder, although she didn't know which was which. They were two extremes: Johanna had given into lust and it had ruined her life, Annie had done what she thought was right and regretted it to the point that it continued to drive her nearly mad. But there was a middle road, or at least it seemed to be—they could be "together" but they could also do it safely.

"Well," Katniss said tentatively, "Do you know anything about condoms?"

It was the conversation that was meant to liberate them, but ultimately led to the start of a brand new life.

**September 1955**

"Elbows off the table, Katniss, dear," Effie scolded her. They were spending the third evening in a row in Haymitch's dining room, being drilled about what forks to use when and how important manners was exhausting, and Katniss was starting to worry if they could do it. Well no, that wasn't totally true. She wasn't worried about Peeta. He could charm anyone; she was afraid that she would mess it up. The week had been painfully long and it was only Thursday night. That night's lesson was on how to properly conduct themselves and how to carry on a conversation without dooming the factory.

The house was cleaner than Katniss imagined it would be, although it still reeked of stale alcohol.

Haymitch swirled his tumbler of whiskey and explained, "Now, if the that snooty old hag—"

Effie promptly cut him off, "Haymitch!"

"Fine," he huffed. "If the _esteemed_ Mrs. Coin..."

Effie smirked, "Well, I wouldn't go that far either."

"Like I was saying, even if she offers you a martini or a glass of wine, do not take it. She won't like you drinking so young."

Katniss and Peeta both nodded; that wouldn't be a worry with them. Even if she weren't pregnant she only drank medicinally and she'd never heard about or seen Peeta taking a drink.

Haymitch continued, "If she asks you question, be honest but don't share everything, always present everything in the most positive light you can. Peeta knows how to talk to her so when in doubt, sweetheart, allow him to take the lead."

Katniss nodded and the older man continued, "Now, I'm going to warn you now, Coin will most likely ask about your family background and will have some sort of nasty remark no matter what."

"Yeah," Peeta grinned and took her hand under the table. "Dad said the first time that he met her she told him that she was glad to see that he left his wooden shoes at home."

Katniss smiled at her husband's attempts to comfort her.

"Now make sure that you wear your wedding rings," Effie said.

Peeta and Katniss exchanged worried glances. They had talked about rings, but after Peeta's mother cleaned out his bank accounts they had agreed that things like groceries and household goods were more important right at the moment than a pair of gold rings.

Peeta cleared his throat and explained to Effie with a bit of embarrassment in his voice, "We haven't gotten rings yet."

Effie said dismayed, "Haymitch, they can't go and see Alma Coin without wedding rings! She'll have a conniption. At the very least, Katniss must have a wedding band."

Haymitch stared at his tumbler a few seconds then heaved himself up and walked up his staircase, leaving the other three to share curious expressions. There was some banging and a shuffling coming from the room above them and then they heard him stomping down the stairs. He gave the young couple a long look before sitting in his chair with a thud. "I'm giving you these. Consider them a belated wedding present." He then set two gold rings on the table in front of them. "They were mine and Maisie's."

Effie gasped. "Haymitch, are you sure? I-I could lend them mine instead."

"No," he replied sternly and then he softened some. "Yours are bad luck. These…these actually were worn by people who fulfilled their vows. Maisie would want someone to wear them instead of them sitting in her jewelry box."

Effie nodded in reluctant agreement and gave Haymitch's upper arm a thoughtful squeeze and he reached up and patted her hand. It felt like a moment of intimacy so Katniss turned her head to examine the ring. The larger ring was a simple gold band, but the woman's ring was far more detailed. It was also gold, but it had a fancy platinum inlay with three diamonds held in place by golden flower at either side. She and Peeta just looked at the rings for a moment.

He looked up to his friend. "Haymitch, we can't accept these."

"Yes, you can," Haymitch assured them. "Go ahead and try them on. They may not even fit."

Peeta took the ring from Katniss's hand, "Here let me." He then easily slid the dainty ring onto herfinger. She in return took the other ring and pushed it onto Peeta's thick finger. It took some force but she finally got it past his knuckle.

"Thank you, Haymitch," Katniss whispered.

He replied by taking a drink and nodding in their direction. They were all quiet for a few seconds and then Haymitch looked at the clock and then announced, "It's late. Why don't you two go on home? Get into bed at a good time. Remember you need to be in the Capitol Club by seven, but show up early. Sweetheart, wear some makeup but not too much. If you don't wear any she'll call you dowdy; too much and she'll tell you that you look like a tart."

Katniss looked at the clock; it was only eight thirty. They had worked much later the other evenings, but it was obvious that Haymitch was too drained to do anymore.

The young couple got ready to go and thanked Haymitch again. Peeta offered to walk Effie to her car, but she just shook her head. "No, I'll stay with Haymitch for a little while."

The young couple walked hand-in-hand to their little house. When they got in, they started their nightly ritual of Katniss helping Peeta get his bath ready. He would have gladly returned the favor, but she bathed during the day to help fill her idle hours. As they waited for the water to heat Katniss asked, "What was meant by Effie's rings being bad luck?"

"It was because Effie left her husband," Peeta shared as he began to unbutton his shirt.

Katniss's eyes went wide, "I thought she was a widow."

"She never talks about it, I only know 'cause Haymitch spilled his guts when he was really drunk one night and I drove him home. Her husband beat the tar out of her; she left but she's a strict Catholic so even though they're technically divorced she can never remarry as long as her husband is alive." Peeta caught his wife's eye as he pulled off his shirt. "Haymitch loves her, you know?" Katniss shook her head and Peeta continued, "He's even asked her to marry him, but she won't do it. She said that he isn't over his wife and that she can't remarry until her husband, Brutus, is dead. I think that's why Haymitch drinks. He's in love with two women and can't be with either one. The dead wife who he can't touch and the woman he can touch, but can never be his wife."

"That's really sad," she admitted. Her heart broke a little at the story because it sounded like a romantic tale without any hope of a happy ending. She never had much sympathy for Haymitch Abernathy's drinking until that moment. It must be hard enough to be separated from someone you love by death, but to know that you love someone and you'll never really be with them must be another sort of torture altogether—one that she could empathize with because that's how she thought her relationship with Peeta would be.

They filled the bath with hot water and Peeta finished taking off his was unabashed and had no problem being nude in front of his wife, although her sense of modesty made her still blush a little at the sight of him naked when they weren't in the midst of _marital activities_. She had to fight a smile watching him ease into the steaming tub. It was a comical sight. In all reality he was too large for it, but there were no other options.

Katniss excused herself to their room to take off her clothes and put on her nightgown—she was still too shy to be bare before him when the lights were on. She slipped the nightgown over her head and padded back to the tiny bathroom to finish getting ready for bed.

While she washed her face, Peeta sighed and said, "I should have gotten you a ring before we eloped…I would have been better to have gone ring shopping instead of house hunting."

She patted her face dry and then came and sat on the edge of the tub, and soothed his face with her hand. "You didn't know how everything would pan out," she consoled him. "It's not like we had a lot of time to plan."

"Maybe," Peeta took her left hand in both of his and said somberly, "The ring looks nice, and it's even prettier than the one I had in mind to get you. You know, I had an engagement ring all picked out for you?"

"No, I didn't," she said honestly.

He let go of her hand. "It was small, just a little diamond solitaire but pretty," he shared with a bit of regret in his voice. "I was going to ask you over Christmas break…I really wanted to ask before I left for school, but I thought it was too soon."

Katniss was so certain that when they decided to elope and he said that he'd always wanted to marry her that he was only saying it to be nice, but now she wholly believed him and it made her feel a little better about the whole situation. She took his hand in her and intertwined their fingers.

He smiled at her and patted her stomach lovingly, "So much for too soon huh?"

"I guess so," she chuckled.

"I just wish that you were wearing this when Hawthorne came to visit," Peeta said wistfully. When Katniss told him about what Gale had said, her husband clenched his fist and set his jaw and said that he would beat the shit out of Gale if he ever spoke to her like that again. She calmed him down and assured her husband that Gale was in shock and she was sure that he would apologize soon. Despite the fact he pretended not to think about it, she knew that Gale had been on Peeta's mind all week.

"He wouldn't have noticed," she shrugged. "Anyhow, it's not the rings that are important but the marriage."

"I know, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to tell the world that you're mine," he said wickedly.

"I'm yours?" Katniss asked in an amused tone and dipped her hands into the water and flicked droplets all over his face then jumped back, but there was nowhere to escape to in the tiny bathroom.

Peeta quickly stood up and stepped out of the tub, sloshing water everywhere, grabbed her around the waist and said, "Yes."

She thought that they were playing until he caught her lips with his and kissed her roughly. His tongue quickly invaded her mouth and his hand gripped her hips and lifted her onto her tiptoes. She could feel him hardening against her stomach, and if she was confused to where this game was headed she certainly wasn't now. He broke the kiss, leaving Katniss to catch her breath, stunned at his unexpected action and incredibly turned on.

He looked her square in the eye."We belong to each other, and I want everyone to know it." There was something in his voice that was unlike anything she'd ever heard in it before. _Jealousy? Assertiveness?_ Katniss couldn't place it exactly, but it made her heart skip a beat.

"It looks like I've gone and gotten you all wet," Peeta said in a deep, even tone. He was right in more one way. "I'm going to have to get you out of those damp clothes before you get chilled." His hands drifted down to the hem of her nightgown and urged her to lift her arms so that he could take it off of her. "I would hate for you to catch a cold," he said with mock concern. He looked her up and down and licked his lips before hooking her panties with his fingers and pulling them down her legs. Katniss stepped out of them and found her back against the door.

He placed a hand on either side of her against the door, pressed her to it and lowered his head to kiss her. This time she was ready and matched his intensity, throwing her arms around his neck. He growled in approval when her tongue stroked his, and his hands snaked down to her rear and picked her up effortlessly. He stopped kissing her to look down; she did the same and the sight she beheld surprised her. He held her easily with one hand and was guiding himself into her entrance with the other. Once the tip was in he held her with both hands and thrust into her. She gasped at the suddenly being full and the tight fit; he moved slowly, just a fraction of an inch at a time until she finally adjusted to him. She moaned and wrapped her legs around his waist to ensure that she wouldn't fall.

"I have you," Peeta roughly swore. "I'm not going to drop you." He held her tightly and his movements became bolder, picking her up higher and then forcing her back down over and over again. The sensation was dizzying—he was in so deep and caused new sensations that she'd never felt before. When she mewled in pleasure, he thrust even harder, and deep in her belly she could feel the pressure coiling like a spring. Katniss looked Peeta in the eye; his expression was feral and fierce and it melted her to the core.

"Who do you belong to?" he growled.

"You, Peeta!" she gasped.

He pounded into her frantically, and she threw her head back and came around him. Her walls squeezed him and urged him to his own release. Without breaking their bond, he turned around until his back hit the door and eased them down to the floor on trembling legs. She sat in his lap and nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck, and she could feel him softening until slipped out of her. He stroked her back sweetly and kissed the top of her hair.

"I didn't know that we could do that standing up," she mused.

"There are all sorts of ways to do it, from what I understand," Peeta chuckled.

"When I was a kid I thought that people did it like cows and pigs," she admitted with flushed cheeks. They both laughed.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked seriously and leaned her back so that he could see her face.

"No," she answered honestly. "It was just unexpected."

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "It's just that I love you so much and I know that I'm not the only one who ever has."

She knew that no matter how many times she told Peeta that friendship was all she ever felt for Gale that it wouldn't change what his perception that Gale wanted more than that from her. Which now that she thought about it, perhaps that was true. When she told Gale that she only wanted to be friends, he reluctantly agreed and while he was away his letters always stressed how much he was missing her. A couple of times he mentioned that he thought about them kissing, and how he couldn't wait to see her again and without fail always signed, 'Love, Gale.'

Katniss realized that she still had yet to _tell _how she felt about him. Growing up she always felt loved and cared for, but the 'L' word was not said often in her home and not hearing it didn't mean anything. For her, love was shown by actions although over the past few weeks she'd come to realize that Peeta wanted to hear it—maybe he needed to.

She had been so reluctant to say it in fear of jinxing everything, but really what was there to jinx? He should hate her right now—he had every reason to. Because of her his family's business was in peril, his mother had taken his hard earned money, they were living in a dingy shack with no hot water and bathing in a tub two feet two short for him, and yet he still loved her.

She took a deep breath and said, "Do you know what I told Gale when he told me that you would only marry me because you'd gotten me pregnant?"

"No," he whispered.

"I told him that we got married because we loved each other," she answered.

Peeta gave her a smile, and not just any smile, the one he reserved only for her, not the people-pleasing one he gave everybody. It was toothy, a little crooked, and his eyes lit up like a department store Christmas tree. It made her feel as beautiful as he was always telling her that she was.

"I love you. There's no need to be jealous of Gale because you're the only one that I love like this," she said sincerely, and motioned between their naked bodies, and she could feel him coming back to life between them.

"I love you, too," he whispered. "I'll show you how much I love you again if you like….We can go nice and easy this time."

She got up and offered him her hand and tried her hardest to sound seductive, keeping sexy actresses like Marilyn Monroe in mind."You don't have to be if you don't want to."

XXXXX

Katniss and Peeta arrived at the Capitol Club at six-forty. A valet took their car and then they walked arm-in-arm to the fancy country club. Peeta had said that being a member of the club had been a dream of his mother's, but that every year they had been denied. They only took the crème de la crème, which apparently excluded a work-a-holic Dutchman and his temperamental, social climbing wife.

Katniss was nervous being there; never in all her life could she imagine even stepping foot in such a place. The fact that she wasn't exactly comfortable in her own skin at the moment didn't help either. Effie had lent her a floral-printed cocktail dress and high-heeled shoes since she didn't own anything deemed suitable. _Effie Trinket must have the narrowest feet on Earth! _

At the door they were stopped by an employee who told them they weren't allowed to come in if they weren't members. Peeta explained that they joining Mrs. Coin for dinner. The man quickly allowed them in; it seemed that if you donated the money for the brand new swimming pool then you could invite anyone you want into the club.

They were shown to a private dining room, where a stately looking middle-aged woman with perfectly coiffed white hair sat with a small cocker spaniel in her lap. A broad serious looking man sat at her side.

Katniss could almost see Peeta turn on his charm. "Mrs. Coin, Mr. Boggs, how nice to see you again." The man stood to welcome them, and the woman looked them over to size them up. "I would like to introduce you to my wife, Katniss."

Mr. Boggs shook Katniss's hand firmly, and she then reached over to Mrs. Coin who just gave her a dismissive look. "I don't shake hands. I would hate to catch something."

"Oh, of course," Katniss said softly. Mr. Boggs gave her an apologetic glance before Peeta helped her to her chair.

Mrs. Coin announced, "I went ahead ordered for you, I hope you like pheasant."

"I'm sure that it will be excellent," Peeta said confidently.

"Mrs. Mellark, have you ever had pheasant?" Mrs. Coin inquired.

"Yes, I have my father hunts them when they're in season. I like it very much," she said politely.

"What does your father do?" the older woman asked pointedly.

"He works at the Panem grain mill, ma'am."

"Hmm, you have a foreign look about you. Where is your family from?"

"Most of my mother's family was from Germany and my father's side is Scotch and Shawnee Indian."

The older woman examined her for a moment. "I suppose that's better than being a Mexican or an Italian."

Appetizers were brought out and Mrs. Coin's attention was turned to her little dog, Claudius, who she fed from the table and talked to more than she did to any person throughout the meal. Peeta and Mr. Boggs had a pleasant conversation about the factory and Peeta asked Mr. Boggs about his family. Mr. Boggs spoke with pride about his wife and young son.

Mrs. Coin interrupted, "I understand that you will become a father in the near future, Mr. Mellark."

Katniss froze, despite being forewarned about this woman, she never expected her to be so blunt.

Peeta dabbed his mouth and smiled. "I see that you've heard our happy news, Mrs. Coin."

"Yes and frankly it causes me much concern," she said coldly. "It proves that you show a lack of judgment and that you acted impulsively and gave into the path of least resistance. If you manage your business like your personal life then I'm going to have to question the future of Mellarks'."

"Ma'am as much as I hate to, I'll respectfully disagree," Peeta said. "I don't believe that my marriage reflects badly on the bakery at all."

"Really?" Mrs. Coin challenged, "Explain yourself."

"Well Mrs. Coin, our marriage was not impulsive," he said confidently."I've been making plans to marry this girl since my first day of school. Katniss does more to inspire me and makes me want to succeed than anyone can. I want to do the best I can for her and my child."

"You have a very naïve vision of the world, Mr. Mellark," she said curtly, "and an education would have helped with that."

Katniss did not like the woman's belittling tone at all and began to clinch her jaw in an attempt to keep from saying anything. What really infuriated her was the thought of how Coin's own grandson had a reputation as a shiftless playboy.

Mrs. Coin turned her head to Katniss, "Mrs. Mellark, do you agree?"

Peeta took her hand under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Katniss debated what to say finally she cleared her throat and said calmly, "No, I think that being married shows how responsible Peeta is. He did what a lot of young men in his position would have been hesitant to do. He did not take the path of least resistance. He has more reason to work hard and succeed than most men his age."

Mrs. Coin seemed to weigh this before she said, "You speak very well for the teenage daughter of a common laborer."

Katniss didn't know if that was a compliment or a criticism and thought it best to hold her tongue.

Mrs. Coin addressed Peeta, "I am not going to pull my investments yet and I am still willing to entertain the idea of expanding the factory in the near future. But I am going to be watching you and the factory closely." She looked at her watch. "Boggs, it is getting late, would you send for my driver please?"

"Of course, Mrs. Coin," Mr. Boggs responded. "Peeta, Katniss, I can see you out, if you like."

Peeta nodded, and they said their goodbyes to Mrs. Coin. Mr. Boggs led the way out. As soon as they were safely out of earshot, he stopped them, patted Peeta on the back, and said, "I know that this evening has been trying but please don't worry, Peeta. Mellarks' is far too profitable for her to abandon. She enjoys thinking that she has influence over everyone and everything. She may send one of her flunkies to watch the factory for a while but nothing will come of it and after a few weeks something else will happen with one of her other interests and everything will go back to the way it was."

Peeta shook his head. "Thank you Boggs."

"Don't mention it," the older man smiled and pulled a card out of his pocket. "If you need anything give me a call." He turned his attention to Katniss. "Pleasure meeting you Katniss; you did very well tonight by not rising to the bait." She nodded in reply. "Congratulations on your marriage and best of luck. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Mr. Boggs," Peeta said.

They walked out of the country club and both let out a sigh of relief as they waited for their car.

"So what did you think of the wicked witch?" Peeta smirked.

"Oh, she's a witch alright," Katniss said in a low tone. "Good thing that I didn't throw my glass of water on her. She might have melted."

Peeta chuckled, "Aww, you wouldn't want to do that, because then the flying monkeys like Finnick Odair take over."

"If Finnick Odair took over, our elopement would be the least of his concerns."

**Thanks for reading I hope that you enjoyed it! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review this story you guys inspire me a keep me writing!**

**I would also like to recognize my beta extraordinaires Court81981 and Kismet4891. Thank you ladies for the quick return!**

**Always a Blessing**

**Chapter 6**

**July 1955**

Even with the windows of Peeta's car rolled down the July air was muggy and stale. Katniss yawned and rested her head on his shoulder; she was exhausted—the day before had been the Fourth of July. Peeta went with her family to the church picnic, and then they'd been invited to the Undersees' party to watch the fireworks, but they got 'distracted' on a back road and made fireworks of their own. They again came dangerously to 'going all the way.' When Katniss went home, her mind was racing; she wanted him so badly it scared her. She never really fell deeply asleep, and it was hard waking up the next morning; her workday went slower than molasses in winter.

"Can I come inside and say hi to your mom and sister?" Peeta asked as he pulled in front of the Everdeen home Friday afternoon.

Katniss smiled at him. He knew that he was always welcome in her home, but he always asked. She laughed, "Of course, I think that they get more excited about seeing you then me."

"No, your family is crazy about you," he insisted and squeezed her hand. "They're not the only ones. It's easy to be over the moon for Katniss Everdeen."

Katniss shook her head. "You're too much."

They walked into the house and were greeted by a commotion: her mom was hollering something about water, and Prim came out of the bathroom with an armful of towels. "Katniss, the faucet busted in the kitchen, and we don't know how to make it stop!"

Peeta snapped into action and took the towels from Prim and ran into the kitchen. He called a few seconds later, "Katniss, I need a crescent wrench! Prim stay out of here, you might slip in the water."

Katniss rushed to the closet where her dad kept his tools and rushed it back to the kitchen. Peeta and her mother were both drenched, but the water had stopped spraying. Mrs. Everdeen excused herself to get into some dry clothes.

He unbuttoned his shirt and paused to ask, "Do you mind? It's soaking wet."

"No," she said simply and watched as Peeta peeled off his shirt.

"It was too hot for an undershirt this morning," he explained when he took his shirt off.

He was broad and muscular, and he had just a patch of golden blond hair chest. She could feel her face flush when she thought about how wonderful it would be explore his body, so she quickly adverted her eyes in embarrassment.

Peeta chuckled then said in a low tone, "Katniss, you are allowed to look at me, I really don't mind."

She brought her eyes back up and offered, "Give me that. I'll put it on the line for you, and I'll get one of my dad's shirts for you."

"Alright, I'll get this fixed," he grinned and turned back to the faucet. There were a few long, thin, pinkish lines on his back. She stepped up closer to get a closer look.

"Peeta," she gasped, "what happened to your back?"

"I…um," he hesitated and kept his eyes glued to his work. "I broke Mother's favorite vase when I was little. I got the switch, and she got a little carried away…She really liked that vase."

She inspected him further; there were perfectly round scars scattered here and there on his upper arms and back. She ran her hand over a couple on his arm. "What about those little ones?"

"Those are from when I had chicken pox," he said in a monotone voice, nothing like his usual self. She knew that those scars weren't from chicken pox; she had one of those on her arm, it was sunken in and not discolored like his marks. She had a suspicion that they were from cigarettes…Gale burned himself on a dare once. Peeta's scars were very similar.

"Oh, alright," she replied and placed a kiss on his shoulder. "I'll be right back."

By the time Katniss came back with the shirt, Peeta had the faucet fixed. "The knob was just loose," he announced happily.

"Here," she said and held out one of her father's soft cotton shirts.

He put on the shirt, and they used the towels to sop up the water on the kitchen floor.

"This is nice," Peeta said out of the blue as they kneeled on the floor.

"What? Being on our hands and knees, drying off the wax floor?"

"No, you and me playing house," he said casually. "It would be nice, you know, being married."

Katniss paused to look him in the eye to judge his sincerity. _Did he mean being married in general…or to me? _She said wistfully, "It's a nice dream, isn't it?"

Peeta smiled wide. Just then Mrs. Everdeen came through the door, "Peeta, dear, you are such a life saver. I never would have gotten that fixed on my own, thank you!"

"It was nothing. I'm just glad that I came in," he said.

"Well, I'm making you dinner to thank you!" she insisted. "We're having meatloaf and mashed potatoes."

"I can't say no to that," he grinned. "Dinner at six as usual?" Mrs. Everdeen nodded her head. "I have some things to do, but I'll be back in time for dinner," he announced then gave Katniss a quick kiss goodbye.

He came back a couple of hours later and had dinner with her family, but there was something different about him. After dinner and visiting for a while, the young couple excused themselves to go for a drive. They didn't even pretend that they had other plans and headed towards the city limits immediately to go park on a back road.

A very short while later, Katniss could feel his fingers inching up her thigh as they kissed and she knew what delight was in store for her shortly. Peeta cocked an eyebrow mischievously, "You know it is awfully hot out. You'd be much more comfortable if you took off a couple of layers."

She rolled her eyes mockingly, "Alright but not everything. I don't want to get caught parking while naked."

"Oh, and getting caught in your slip is so much better?" he teased and started to place kisses down her neck.

"Yes!" she giggled and caught his lips in a passionate kiss. Together they unbuttoned her shirt, and she shimmied out of her skirt. His fingers hooked her panties and dragged them down and off of her feet. They sat side by side, turned slightly to each other, in the roomy back seat.

They caressed and teased each other. She played with his belt and cupped his hard bulge. He ran his fingers over the seam of her sex; she heard him groan, and tell her in a lusty voice, "You're so wet for me already."

"Oh, Peeta," she moaned as he dipped his fingers inside her to coat his fingers with her arousal before gliding them over her needy little bundle of nerves. It amazed her how quickly he could make her come now. They'd only done this a few times but seemed so natural to be like this with him. He worked her intimately with one hand and kneaded her breast with the other. When she started to writhe, his hand abandoned her breast then urged her onto her back against the seat. Soon he was stroking the bundle with the thumb of one hand while he filled her with two fingers of the other. She moved her hips in tandem with his actions. He watched in amazement as he brought her to the edge, and he nearly came when she did.

It took little while for her to recover, but when she did she sat up on her elbows and looked him in the eye and whispered, "I wish we could go further."

Peeta froze and seemed to be thinking about something.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He licked his lips and posed in a hoarse voice, "What if I told you I bought a box of condoms?"

"You what?" she spat. Her fear was that someone would have seen, and the word would get around town.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "I went to Mayberry to buy them this afternoon. No one recognized me, I promise. After last week and last night, you know? We talked about it, I just thought…"

"No," she stopped him by placing her fingers over his mouth. "I was just afraid that someone would see you, and then everyone would know about us."

"I wouldn't care. I want to tell the world about us," he said sweetly.

"I know," she told him sincerely. She knew he meant it now, but he would change his mind soon. He would leave for college and forget about her. She didn't want to be known as the poor girl who tried to entrap Peeta Mellark, or for people to think that he'd mistreated her. He often tried to talk about the future. Several times she swore that he had tried to tell her that he loved her, but she wouldn't allow it, reasoning that if they never traded 'I love yous' then his leaving wouldn't hurt nearly as much. While she couldn't bring herself to say the words yet, she wanted to give him a part of herself.

She sat on her knees next to him, tugged on the hem of his tee shirt to let him know that she wanted it off, and once it was off, she let her hands roam the planes of his sculpted chest. Katniss felt privileged that she could touch and know him like this. She could feel one of the many little scars that were scattered all over his body, and her heart broke for him. There was so much more to Peeta Mellark then met the eye.

She began to kiss his chest, and her hands slid down to the waist of his pants and made quick work of belt and fly. He let out a groan when released, and she wrapped her around his hardened length and began to stroke him.

"Let me get a condom," he said shakily and reached over the seat to his glove box. He opened the box and pulled out a square with a trembling hand. He opened it and then examined the strange object for a moment, then looked to her as if he were asking for help and shyly admitted, "I don't know what I'm doing."

She gave him a timid smile. "We'll figure it out together. Why don't you take your pants off?"

He nodded in agreement and pulled off his pants and boxers, totally naked to her for the first time ever. The moonlight highlighted the outlines of his beautiful body. He sat back in his place, and they experimented with how to properly cover his member. They put it one way, but he said that it did not feel right when it was halfway on. So they slid it off and turned it inside out.

"Does it feel alright?" she asked when it was finally in place.

"Yeah, it's just a little snug," he replied. "So what do we do now? I don't want to hurt you."

"Just kiss me," she told him. Peeta was happy to comply and caught her mouth with his. She straddled his lap and nipped at his lips and sucked on his tongue, knowing how excited that it made him. He pulled down the neckline of her slip so that he could get to the front close of her bra and released her breasts. He closed his mouth around one of the dusky peaks. Katniss mewled and began to sway her hips, looking for some relief for her aching core against his hardened length. Instead of sating her, she only wanted more. She gripped him and positioned herself over him and lowered herself so that his tip was just inside her.

"Are you sure?" he whispered, his eyes wide and dark.

"Yes," she sighed in his ear. "I want it to be you." Before he could protest anymore, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and eased down, sheathing him totally inside her, and she felt something rip. She withheld a gasp of pain; she had known that it would hurt, but she was not expecting the burning discomfort or the impossibly tight feeling.

Peeta let out a euphoric growl that sounded something like, "Dear God."

The world was still for a moment. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice was full of concern.

"Yes," she lied, knowing that he would insist on stopping, so she decided to finish what she'd started and rose slightly and came back down. This helped with the pain, which was fading into a dull ache, so she continued. Peeta gripped her hips and helped her to rise and fall at a faster pace.

"Katniss, I-I won't be able be able to last too much longer," he panted and tightened his grip and began to thrust inside her erratically. Seconds later he threw his head back on the seat and called her name. She felt him flutter within her, along with a feeling of warmth. They relaxed into each other and stayed quiet for a few moments. She could feel him soften inside her.

She nuzzled her head into his shoulder. He stroked her hair and whispered, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said bashfully, "and thank you."

"How bad did it hurt?" he inquired and brought her face to his. "I know that it did, you aren't very good at lying."

"It wasn't terrible," she shrugged her shoulders. "It's almost all better now."

"Fibber," he playfully accused. He looked at his watch. "We'd better get cleaned up so we can get you home by curfew."

She nodded in agreement and crawled out of his lap and got some napkins to wipe herself up—there was a far bigger mess than she thought there would be—and began to collect her clothes, and Peeta got out of the door to start the car so they had light to dress in.

"Oh, no," he said in horrified tone from the front seat.

"Peeta, what is it? Is it the police?" she said in a panic.

"No, um…it broke," he said and looked at her, all the color drained from his face.

"What broke?" she asked in ignorance. "The condom!" he replied, dumbfounded.

Her stomach dropped and her head felt light. "Crap!"

"I'm so sorry," he apologized.

Katniss found the condom box, desperately looking for some sort of information. She noticed the size labeled on front. "Peeta, there is no possible way that you're a 'small'…Not that I've seen any others, but if you're small, I wouldn't want anything to do with a big one."

"What?" Peeta grabbed the box from her hands, read it, and whispered, "Shit! I was so nervous that I just grabbed the first box I saw…I'm so sorry Katniss."

Katniss decided that she needed to defuse the situation and convince not only him, but herself, that everything would be alright. Using flawed logic the way that only uninformed teenagers can she said, "Um, it should be okay…I mean, it is supposed to be impossible to get pregnant the first time, right?"

"I've heard that too," he agreed, although he did not sound totally convinced. "Also, you were on top…Gravity has to account for something doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I would think so," she concurred. "Come on, we'd better get our clothes on."

They dressed and got into the car and headed to Panem. She sat in the middle of the front seat, and he held her a little closer and tighter than usual.

"I'm sure that it will be fine," she said and patted his thigh.

Once they got onto a main road he inquired, "So what do you think? How was it? I mean, other than the end."

Katniss couldn't stop the big smile that appeared on her face, or the blush that was heating up her face. "I would like to do it again, sometime soon, providing that you get the right size."

"I would too," he admitted with a little chuckle. They rode in companionable silence for a little while; when they stopped at a red light, he cleared his voice and caught her eye. "I love you. You know that, right?"

She froze; it was the first time he'd been able to get it out. She loved him too—she wouldn't have given him her virginity if she hadn't. Yet she couldn't bring herself to say it aloud because she felt like the moment she admitted it to herself that everything would fall apart.

The light turned green, but he still sat staring at her.

Finally she kissed his cheek and said in a barely audible whisper, "I know."

A car behind them honked and Peeta put the car in gear. She could tell that he was a little put out by her response, and it broke her heart to break his.

**October 1955**

Katniss sat at her kitchen table, forcing herself to read the baby care book that she'd gotten from the library. There was a list of no less than 50 things that she could do wrong to seriously harm or kill her baby. She cursed her sister for making her get that particular book.

The sisters had a new weekly outing: going to the library and getting books together. Prim loved picking out books about pregnancy and child rearing, making the old librarian give her odd looks. Katniss took them only to appease her little sister, when actually reading them just scared her. So she often just picked up novels to read and skimmed Prim's picks, only the frightening stuff stuck out to her.

The books were daunting; they made raising a child look so scientific and impossible—like only doctors and saints should dare touch a baby. She was horrified when she saw where she was supposed to take its temperature. _Is putting a glass thermometer there a good idea? _Feedings exactly three hours apart, diapers, pins, plastic pants, swaddling. _It will take me three hours to simply to do all that! How in the world did people take care of babies before all this?_

The morning sickness finally stopped completely, and she wasn't nearly as exhausted as she was just a couple of weeks ago, but her clothes were starting to become snug. She and Peeta had been married nearly six weeks. She'd gone to a doctor, and he'd confirmed her early Sping due date. In less than five months, they would be parents, and that thought scared her to no end.

At her feet, Ripper began to bark and carry on. Katniss had started letting the old tripod mutt in the house during the day; she was some form of company while she was alone. Katniss looked out the window and saw a late model car and delivery truck pulling into the drive towards her house.

"What in the world?" she said to herself and went to the front door.

Madge Undersee hopped out of the car and said something to the truck driver, then hurried up to the porch. "Katniss! How are you?" she exclaimed and hugged her.

"Good. What are you doing here?"

"I have some wedding gifts for you," Madge explained.

"In a delivery truck?!"

"Yes, you see when I heard that you and Peeta didn't have any furniture, I told my dad that ours was terribly out of style and that even if we had it reupholstered that it just wouldn't do any more. He let me pick out new set and told me to find a place to take the old set. So here we are."

"Madge, really we can't take this stuff," Katniss tried to dissuade her.

"It's here so you're keeping it," Madge grinned. "It's a present from Jon and me. He's paid for delivery."

Katniss stared in disbelief at the pastel floral couch that the men were carrying in to her house, which was also joined by a love seat and a matching chair. The furniture may have been old, but it was very high quality. The deliverymen set everything in place, and Madge handed them some money before they left. Katniss made them some tea and then took it out to the sitting room where she tried out the furniture. It was so comfortable that she thought that she might just curl up and take a nap right there.

"So what do you think?" Madge asked and took a seat across from Katniss.

"Madge, I don't know what to say, thank you," Katniss said sincerely.

"You're welcome," she smiled. "I've been looking for an excuse to come out here anyhow. I was hoping that you might get a phone soon so I could call."

"We're going to get a phone soon," Katniss told her. "But you can come out anytime you want."

"I know. It's just a little strange for me to come out here…" Madge said somberly. "I don't know if you know it, but Haymitch was married to my aunt. He and my mother had a falling out; she blamed him for her sister's death. She needed to blame someone, and Haymitch was the easiest one to blame."

"I had no idea," Katniss confessed.

"You had no way to know," Madge shrugged her shoulders and took a sip of her tea. "I'm not even sure how much the Mellarks know about it. My dad and Haymitch are still friendly."

They changed the subject and shared small talk for a while.

"So, are you ready for Mrs. Mellark's cocktail party this weekend?" Madge asked.

"I had no idea that there was one," she said honestly. They most likely were not invited, much to Katniss's relief. She and Peeta had not seen his mother since the day after they got married, and Katniss didn't care if she ever saw her again, quite frankly.

"Oh, well I was just told about this morning," Madge replied. "I'm sure that Peeta knows all about it." The blonde got all excited. "Apparently Finnick Odair in town to look over the bakery, and your in-laws are hosting a party to welcome him Saturday night. Isn't that titillating news?"

Katniss forced a smile; she was not nearly as thrilled as Madge. Earlier in the week, they heard that Mrs. Coin was in fact sending someone to watch over the factory and to examine the feasibility of an addition in the near future. Her worst fear had been realized: Finnick Odair had been the one sent to inspect them. Katniss had been hoping that someone down to earth, like Mr. Boggs, would be sent, and not the grandma's boy Odair. The future of the bakery was too important to be left in the hands of that womanizing idiot.

"Jon and Al have been asked to come home for it," Madge commented, drawing Katniss from her thoughts. "I should also tell you that Mrs. Mellark has asked me to invited Delly to the party."

"Oh," she feigned interest.

"Yes, I think that she's trying to push her on Albert now," Madge grinned.

"That might be difficult," she commented. "He seemed pretty attached to that Lavinia girl that he brought over this summer."

Madge laughed, "Yes, I don't know who I've heard her complain about more 'the squaw' or 'the red-headed Jew girl'."

"I don't envy you for being the favorite," Katniss teased.

"It's lovely, I assure you," Madge sarcastically.

"How did Delly take the news of Peeta being married?" Katniss asked hesitantly. She could empathize with Delly; she was a nice girl, and Peeta was so easy to love and would be very difficult to lose.

"Not well," Madge shook her head. "Her dad bought her a convertible to cheer her up." Katniss did not know how to reply, so she stayed silent. Madge sighed, "Don't feel bad about it, Peeta was always honest with her. Anybody with eyes could see that he was crazy about you."

Madge then changed her tone, "Hey, I was wondering if you would like to play bridge sometime. My mom is hardly ever well enough to play these days, and it would be nice to have someone nearer my age to play with."

Katniss really had no desire to play cards, but she knew that Madge was as lonely during the day as she was. It was very likely that they would be family someday, and it would be nice to have a favorable relationship with at least one Mellark woman. She agreed that they would get together sometime soon.

Madge looked at the clock and said, "Well, it's time for my mom's afternoon pills. I'd best be getting back. Please say hello to Peeta for me."

"I will," she promised and thanked her again.

Katniss got a start on dinner once she was alone. Peeta would be home in an hour or so. They had roast beef with her family last night, so hash was on the menu for the tonight. It was one of the few things that Katniss could handle with confidence on her own.

The hours passed, and Peeta hadn't come yet, and neitherhad Haymitch. By seven, she was getting worried, or at the very least, curious. Peeta and Haymitch had driven separately so she didn't have the car to go and check on him. Annoyed and concerned, at eight o'clock she went to Haymitch's house to use his phone, and after getting no answer at the factory she called Effie's house.

The secretary proceeded to tell her how Mr. Odair had insisted that Haymitch and Peeta go out for a drink with him. Effie assumed with a huff that Peeta was most likely sticking around to drive a drunken Haymitch home. Katniss breathed a little sigh of relief and decided to go ahead and eat; there was no point to wait any longer, and the baby needed her to eat.

She picked up the library copy of _Rebecca_ and lay on her new couch. Before she realized it she was asleep.

Katniss awoke with a start when Ripper started barking. A rush of cool autumn blew in when the door was opened.

"Katniss, I'm home," Peeta called out, but his voice sounded strange. He appeared in the doorway with Abernathy under his arm. "Haymitch, are we at the right place? We didn't have furniture this morning."

"Yeah, this is the place, boy," a sober Haymitch confirmed.

"Hi, beautiful," Peeta grinned when he saw his dismayed wife. He slurred, "I'm sorry I'm late, we lost track of time."

She looked to Haymitch to explain; he set Peeta down on the chair and said in a hushed voice. "The boy got drunk for the first time tonight. I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't realize that he would be such a lightweight. Odair just kept handing beers to him."

Katniss rolled her eyes and cursed, "Damn it Haymitch, you let the flying monkey get my husband drunk?!"

"What about a flying monkey?" an unfamiliar man's voice said. She turned to see a tall man with bronze colored hair, and she could feel the color drain from her face. He smiled, "Hello, you must be Katniss, I'm Finnick Odair. Please call me Finn."

"Um…nice to meet you, Finn," Katniss was not expecting to meet him tonight and the first thing he'd heard was her putting her foot in her mouth.

"I had to come in here and see for myself if you were half as pretty as Peeta said you were," Finnick grinned.

"Sorry, that you came all this way to be disappointed," she said matter-of-factly.

"Me too," Finnick shrugged his shoulders. He had been drinking too, and she could smell the beer on him. "I was expecting a Sophia Loren, but you're more an Audrey Hepburn, still not too bad."

Katniss didn't know what to make of the man so she turned to Peeta and Haymitch. Her husband was dozing off in the chair. She was going to ask Haymitch what to do with him because she'd never been around enough people who drank to know how to take care of them.

He must have been able to see her question written in her face and answered, "Make him drink some water, give him an aspirin, put him to bed, and give him black coffee, bacon, and toast in the morning. I'll have to take him to work in the morning because his car is at the factory."

"Don't be too upset with him, it really wasn't his fault," Finnick said casually.

_No, it's your fault! _She really tried her hardest not to scowl at the man, but she was not successful. If looks could kill, Mr. Odair would have been lying limp on the floor.

"Well, we'll leave you to it, sweetheart," Haymitch said and straightened his hat.

"Is he safe to drive?" Katniss asked in a whisper, motioning towards Finnick.

"I'm taking him to his hotel, but I wanted to get Peeta home first," Haymitch told her.

"Thanks, Haymitch," she said sincerely.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Katniss," Finnick said and offered her his hand. She took it out of politeness and he grinned, "Although I don't think you're so thrilled about meeting me. Not a typical reaction, I must say."

The two men finally left, and Ripper followed her owner out the door. Katniss sighed and turned her attention to Peeta, who was still asleep in the chair. She got him some water and aspirin then she shook him awake. He smiled at her sweetly, "Hi."

She shook her head and helped him up. "Come on take this, and let's get you to bed."

"Are we going to have fun in bed?" he asked hopefully.

"No, I have a feeling that you'll pass out before your head hits the pillow, and besides you reek of beer and cigars."

"Are you mad at me?" he questioned, sounding a lot like a small child.

"I ought to be," she said simply. She wanted to be mad at him, but really she couldn't be. "You deserve it."

"Are you going to punish me?" he chuckled.

"No, I have feeling that your body will be punishing you in the morning."

She helped him undress to his boxers and to lie down in bed before getting ready herself to sleep.

"Can you open the window, please," he whined from under the covers. She'd come to find that it was how he preferred to sleep. She cracked the window and went to bed.

"I missed you tonight," he said and wrapped her in his arms.

"Looks like you had fun without me," she commented with a bit of bitterness in her voice.

"I'm sorry, Haymitch said that we need to make friends with Finnick," Peeta yawned. "He said that he could be our…biggest …ally."

She was about to ask for an explanation, but Peeta had fallen sleep and she followed soon after. When she woke up the next morning, the first thing she noticed was that Peeta wasn't in bed. Katniss padded into the bathroom where Peeta was asleep on the floor.

She jostled him a little until he finally stirred. "What?" he complained.

"Peeta, you need to wake up now," she said gently and tried not to laugh at his misery. She got breakfast ready while he splashed himself with cold water to help wake and clean him up.

A hellish looking Peeta stumbled into the kitchen where Katniss made him drink black coffee and dry toast. (The toast was made with Johanna's wedding gift to them, one of her spare toasters.) She offered to make him bacon, but he turned green just at the mention of it.

"So how do you feel?"

"Terrible," he groaned. "I am never drinking again."

"I'm holding you to that," she grinned. "So how did last night go, well, before you got drunk?"

"It went really well, Finnick isn't as bad as we thought. He's actually pretty alright to talk to. He wants to help plan the addition."

Katniss had about a hundred more questions, but Haymitch came to take Peeta to work. The older man laughed at Peeta's expense.

"How in hell do you function like this all the time?" Peeta asked him.

"Aw, you build up a tolerance," Haymitch said with a wave of his hand.

They left after Peeta gave her an apologetic kiss and a promise to get a phone by month's end so he could tell her when he was going to be late. Katniss set about her usual routine when she saw a car coming up the driveway. She was surprised to see a man carrying large bouquet of flowers, and she met him on the porch. She smiled and assumed that they came from Peeta.

When she got inside, she looked over the flowers. It was a mixture of lilies, carnations, and sunflowers; she was glad that it wasn't a gaudy bunch of roses. She finally located the card and read it—shockingly they were not from Peeta.

"_Dear Mrs. Mellark, I was going to send your namesake, but apparently florists don't keep them on hand. I am sending these as a peace offering for keeping your husband out all night and getting him inebriated. Please forgive me. Yours truly, the Flying Monkey"_

Katniss didn't know if she was more horrified or humored. She now knew that he had heard her comment but wasn't all that offended by it or didn't seem to be. Maybe Finnick Odair wasn't the shiftless playboy that she'd taken him to be.

**Thank you so much for reading!**


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